The New York Knicks, with Jalen Brunson as the new idol in the Big Apple, beat the Sixers 115-118 in Philadelphia and eliminated Joel Embiid’s franchise 2-4 in an absolutely vibrant and exciting first round of the playoff . In the NBA East semifinals, the Knicks will face the Indiana Pacers, who also dispatched Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks 4-2.
Brunson dazzled with 41 points and 12 assists (four games in a row with more than 40 points) but Josh Hart was essential with a triple with 24.4 seconds left. The fever for the Knicks has once again infected New York, hooked on a team that, despite being an NBA giant, has not won a ring for 51 years (1972-1973) and has not reached the Finals for 25 years. (1998-1999).
Quite the opposite, they live in Philadelphia, with one more shipwreck for the project of a very worthy Embiid, who has done everything possible to play despite his physical problems. Even so, the 2023 MVP has been in Philadelphia for eight seasons and has never reached the East final. The center gave everything with 39 points and 13 rebounds.
The Knicks had an impressive first quarter. With a 22-36 after a maximum of 22, the Knicks, led by Brunson (10 points), overwhelmed the Sixers in all areas, including rebounding (10-16 with 9 of them offensive). However, Philadelphia’s reaction was equally explosive, with a shocking 32-15 lead in the second quarter that allowed them to go into halftime ahead (54-51).
The rollercoaster of the match continued after the restart. Maxey, gray before the intermission (only 2 points), gave the Sixers a 10 in the middle of the third period (71-61). The stars asked to speak: Embiid came out with 16 points in that quarter, but Brunson with 11 led the Knicks who tied the score before the last act (83-83).
The Knicks point guard, absolutely devastating, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and Anunoby nailed an impressive dunk that gave the Knicks an 8 with only 2.43 remaining. But the Sixers refused to die and tied the game in the last minute with an additional basket by Maxey. There appeared Hart, who after a two for one to Brunson assumed responsibility and sealed a frontal triple that is worth a pass to the Eastern semifinals
For their part, the Indiana Pacers, with a magnificent performance by T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin crushed the Milwaukee Bucks 120-98 this Thursday in Indiana, who were eliminated in the first round (4-2) without being able to count on the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA MVP in 2020, in the playoff. .
The injuries will be presented as a mitigating factor, but even so it will be difficult to justify the complete failure of these Bucks who, before starting the season, were the great contender in the East along with the Boston Celtics and one of the main candidates for the ring, reinforced this year with Damian Lillard but without a mainstay like Jrue Holiday.
The Bucks’ hope lasted three minutes, with a solid start to go 3-10. And it also took three minutes for the Pacers to start the engines, check that they were greased and impose their demanding and tireless rhythm. Haliburton, with 10 points in the first quarter, made sure that the game was played at full speed and Toppin (9 points) and McConnell (6) joined that party to boost the Pacers (33-24).
Nothing changed in the second quarter and the statistics at halftime (59-47) left only the question of why the Pacers had not achieved a greater advantage after destroying Milwaukee in bench points (19-1), on the counterattack (14-2) and in the paint (30-20). Haliburton (15 points) stood out for Indiana while Lillard and López held the Bucks to 14 points apiece.
During the resumption, the will-they-won’t-I-can’ts continued between the Bucks who were within 7 points but who didn’t have the dynamite to plot an ambush. On the contrary, Toppin (10 points) and McConnell (5) continued to crush the visitors and those in yellow reached the last quarter with a margin (93-78). With a captivating and hyperactive McConnell, the Pacers reached 20 thanks to a triple by Ben Sheppard (104-84 with 8.07 to go) and the Bucks did not take long to throw in the towel and close a campaign to be forgotten.