The rage, the heart and the faith of some New York Knicks who never give up, gave them this Monday the victory against the Sixers by 104-101 and 2-0 in a series that will now travel 150 kilometers south to Philadelphia.
It was not a night of high flying and spectacular basketball at Madison Square Garden, but these Knicks of impressive sacrifice handled themselves like no one else in difficult games, fighting in the trenches and launching attacks on every rebound or split ball.
It seemed that everything was lost for the New Yorkers with a -5 with 47 seconds left, but a triple from a Jalen Brunson denied throughout the evening, a steal from Tyrese Maxey and an epic triple from Donte DiVincenzo with 13 seconds left gave them the return to the scoreboard amidst the delirium of the local fans. Maxey took responsibility for the Sixers but his layup was blocked by Isaiah Hartenstein.
DiVincenzo (19 points), Hartenstein (14 points and 8 rebounds) and Josh Hart (21 points and 15 rebounds) were the heroes of this magical night in the Big Apple.
Tom Thibodeau’s men dodged with victory another very ill-advised performance by Brunson: The point guard scored 24 points but with a terrible 8 of 29 shooting and at no time could he dominate the defenders that Nick Nurse put on him (Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, Nicolas Batum…).
For their part, the Sixers left empty-handed after narrowing down a victory that would have been crucial to stealing the home court factor and now they will have to deal with the moral blow on the way to Philadelphia. Joel Embiid (34 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (35 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists) were the best of the Sixers, once again meritorious and once again without a prize.
final apotheosis
Hesitant until the last moment due to illness, Maxey started as if he were at his peak with three triples in a row. Embiid followed in his wake, with 12 points and 8 rebounds despite his undeniable physical limitations. Even so, the best thing about the Sixers was their defense, which held a very uncomfortable Brunson and caused 4 turnovers for the Knicks with only 33.3%. After such a weak start, the New Yorkers could breathe a sigh of relief with a score that was not very bulky (18-25).
Very clumsy and stuck in the static attack, the locals tried to run and shake up the game but could not take advantage of Embiid’s minutes on the bench (29-36 with 6.56 until halftime). The atmosphere at Madison Square Garden was electric, with fans ready to rally at the slightest hint of a comeback. With a couple of heroics from Hart, the Knicks went to halftime close to the Sixers, with their fans fired up and with more pride than game (49-53). Maxey (20 points) and Embiid (16 points and 10 rebounds) shined for the visitors in a first half in which Hart kept the Knicks afloat with 19 points (4 triples) and 10 rebounds.
With no news from Brunson (4 of 14 shooting), the person in charge of taking over from Hart was DiVincenzo, explosive in the third quarter with 7 points and several magnificent actions on defense. Embiid (13 points) held the Sixers’ stronghold but the Knicks, precisely with a basket from the ill-advised Brunson, took the lead for the first time all night with 4.00 left at the end of the third quarter (68-67).
It was a key moment for Philadelphia and it was Embiid’s turn on the bench, a combination that did not go well and the Knicks, with 10 points from Hartenstein, reached the last twelve minutes with an advantage (79-74). Bojan Bogdanovic and Miles McBride reappeared at the best moment with two consecutive triples from the Croatian and two consecutive baskets from ‘Deuce’, but Embiid and Maxey did not give up, they tied the score and took the match to another very exciting outcome (94- 94 with 3.49 at the end).
It seemed that everything was decided with a triple from Maxey with 1.09 remaining that put a +4 for the Sixers, but DiVincenzo led the comeback and final apotheosis of a Knicks with a thousand and one lives.
2024-04-23 03:49:55
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