PHILADELPHIA – The scene might have been a repeat of 48 hours earlier, but this time things went higher for the New York Knicks.
With the Knicks holding a one-point lead and hoping to finish an NBA first-round playoff series for the second time in three days, Donte DiVincenzo stepped to the free throw line. At that moment, they knew that the sport of telephone was much more necessary than a game of basketball.
Two nights earlier, when the Knicks once more fought a troublesome battle with the Philadelphia 76ers, Josh Hart made just one in all two free throws, extending the Knicks' lead to 3 with 15 seconds left. Anyone who cares about drama knows what happened next: The Knicks didn't intentionally foul, regardless that they were speculated to. Tyrese Maxey evened the rating with a 3-pointer from Hoboken. And the 76ers won in additional time, extending the series to game six.
The Knicks said after the ultimate buzzer on Tuesday that they miscommunicated. Head coach Tom Thibodeau wanted them to commit three errors, however the message wasn't conveyed.
This shouldn't occur again.
As DiVincenzo waited for the basketball, able to shoot two free throws that might put the Knicks ahead, the Knicks players ran toward one another, reminding everyone of the situation. Everyone on the court knew the plan: If DiVincenzo sank each freebies, they’d intentionally commit a foul.
This time they did exactly that.
DiVincenzo met them each. Miles “Deuce” McBride, the identical guy who didn’t commit an intentional foul on Tuesday, hit Maxey within the backcourt long before he could take a shot. The Knicks and Sixers exchanged free throws. And it helped New York secure a 118-115 win and, more importantly, close out the series 4-2.
OG Anunoby celebrates a 3-pointer in Game 6 against the 76ers on Thursday. (Bill Streicher/USA Today)
“When something like that happens sometimes, it crystallizes everyone’s mindset,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And we won’t be perfect. We will make mistakes along the way. And I think that’s what you see here.”
The Knicks will face the Indiana Pacers, who’re fresh off a six-game win over the Milwaukee Bucks, within the second round of the playoffs. Game 1 is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
New York will make mistakes on this series too. Just like against Philly, it can need to learn from them.
One reason the Knicks have made it this far — winning a playoff series two seasons in a row, the primary time this franchise has achieved that feat in 24 years — is that their mistakes make them higher.
They tousled the top of Game 5, in order that they made sure they didn't do the identical thing in Game 6.
On Thursday they achieved great success. They fouled after they were speculated to. On one other possession, with the Sixers making a play in the ultimate minute and the Knicks leading by three, Thibodeau knew Philadelphia needed to go for a three-pointer.
Instead of leaving a standard center on the ground, as he had done in Game 5 when Mitchell Robinson fouled Maxey on a four-point play, he replaced McBride for a small, do-it-all lineup with OG Anunoby at center was standing. There has been a stop.
The Knicks noticed what wasn't working and adjusted.
They put different defenders on Maxey after he scored 46 points in Game 5. In Game 6, he scored just 17 points on 18 shots. In Game 6, DiVincenzo began with him.
They reworked their double teams from Joel Embiid. In the second half of Game 6, they defended the reigning MVP squarely and didn't double him except in emergencies. Until then, they alternated where the double teams got here from, sometimes from two passes from a distance, sometimes from the baseline.
The Knicks didn't win Game 6 simply because they'd been there before.
Hart hit a three-pointer with 25.6 seconds left and finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. Anunoby got here off the court within the second half, disrupted passing lanes and destroyed Embiid on a dunk within the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points and nine boards. DiVincenzo rediscovered his shot and scored 23 points and 7 assists while sinking five 3-pointers.
And then there was Jalen Brunson, who had 41 points and 12 assists. He has now scored greater than 39 points in 4 consecutive playoff games, which was the primary time since Michael Jordan in 1993.
27-year-olds with 35+ PPG within the playoffs:
Michael Jordan
Elgin BaylorAnd Jalen Brunson. pic.twitter.com/Wcbc3hSRVh
– StatMuse (@statmuse) May 3, 2024
“It was a really big test for us and we were able to come out victorious,” Brunson said. “In the future… it could be a different test, maybe something completely different. But it definitely helps, and of course you want to learn while you win, so of course we’re still playing and we want to get better.”
Because of this, the Knicks showed no real interest in moving on from the No. 2 seed at the top of the season. Others across the league, just like the Cleveland Cavaliers, feared the 76ers, who moved to seventh place as a result of Embiid's injury, enough to intentionally lose on the ultimate day of the regular season. But New York wanted that position.
With second place, this group is now well positioned.
The Knicks pushed and pushed their well past the Sixers in Round 1. They had home-field advantage in Round 2 – and they might have had it if the Pacers hadn't upset the Bucks. The Knicks – yes, the New York Knicks – will likely be the favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the primary time since 2000.
But that doesn't mean Indiana will likely be a walk within the park.
The Pacers are gliding through games. They are speed demons in transition. The pick-and-pop between Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner is one of the dangerous moves within the NBA. The Knicks will run into a whole lot of problems in Round 2 that they've never seen before.
A season ago, they faced a lower seeded team within the Eastern Conference semifinals and things didn't go well for them as they lost to the Miami Heat in six games. But the Knicks are likely to learn from their mistakes.
It's a superb trait to boast within the playoffs.
“Crazy things happen in the playoffs,” Thibodeau said. “And then it depends on how you react.”
image credit : theathletic.com