NBA Playoffs – playoffs – working day 16
If basketball were boxing, the New York Knicks would have knocked out the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round this Thursday. The sixth game of the first round of the playoffs between them began with a 33-11 partial in favor of the New York team with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Never in the previous five games of the series had such a large gap opened between the two teams. Those from Philadelphia, however, got up from the canvas and scored as many points in those remaining two minutes as in the previous 10. They completed the comeback in the second quarter, to go into halftime with an advantage (54-51). In the end, however, in one of the most exciting matches of the first round, they fell on points (115-118). Joel Embiid’s 76ers say goodbye to the season, while the Knicks will face the Indiana Pacers in one of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.
It was a somewhat crazy game, with streaks, but as has happened in almost all the matches in the series, the Knicks were more cool and successful in the decisive moments. The Philadelphia team made a mistake in their decisions in the last half minute and were left out at the first opportunity.
After one quarter for each team, the scoreboard showed a tie at the end of the third and a difference of only one point with one minute remaining. With 108-111 in favor of the Knicks, the referees were watching over and over again in slow motion whether a block on a tackle by Tyrese Maxey had been illegal or not. After reviewing all the shots, the moviola showed that the ball had touched the backboard before the block. Two points and also an additional shot, since Maxey had suffered a foul at the same time. With the free throw, the game was tied at 111 with only 35 seconds remaining.
There Josh Hart emerged inexplicably unmarked and hit a three-pointer for the Knicks with 24 seconds left. For the 76ers, it was a life or death possession. However, the Philadelphia team, without much discretion, preferred to score a quick two-pointer than look for the triple. They fouled them next, but Donte DiVicenzo made both free throws and then, with a difference in favor of three points (113-116), it was the Knicks who fouled. Maxey reduced the difference to one and the Sixers made another foul, but time was running out. Jalen Brunson also made both of his free throws and the 76ers found themselves with just 3.7 seconds left to even a three-point lead.
The miracle of game five, when Tyrese Maxey scored a stratospheric triple to force overtime, was not repeated. With Maxey under pressure, the 76ers no longer had time to make an option pitch. The ball did not touch the rim.
Embiid was the absolute protagonist of the 76ers attack. He scored 39 points and captured 13 rebounds despite the physical problems that he has been experiencing throughout the series. On the other hand, Maxey did not have his day. After his 46 points in Game 5, he capped a poor series of 6 of 18 field goals in Thursday’s decisive game, including just one success in his six attempts from the three-point line. Without his contribution, Embiid’s titanic effort was not enough for Philadelphia.
Bases Duel
The figure of the game was Jalen Brunson, with 41 points and 12 assists for the Knicks. He already scored 47 points in the fourth game and 40 in the fifth of the series, in which he has led his team to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive time. He starts as the theoretical favorite in his duel against the Indiana Pacers. It will be a duel between two of the fittest point guards in the NBA. Brunson, of the Knicks, and Haliburton, for the Pacers.
With the elimination of the 76ers, the best player from last regular season falls, who has been dogged by injuries this year. In addition to Embiid, this Thursday the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, best player of the regular season in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, was also left out with the Bucks. These losses are added to those of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, dominant figures in the NBA in the last two decades. James Harden and Russell Westbrook, both from the Los Angeles Clippers, are on the tight rope, as their team loses 3-2 in their match against the Dallas Mavericks. If the Clippers fall, the only MVP of the last 12 seasons who would survive would be the Serbian Nikola Jokić, of the champion Denver Nuggets.
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