Sixers taken down by three guys who had been there (Wells Fargo Center) before

PHILADELPHIA — There wasn’t a signature play down the stretch that told the story of Game 6 between the Sixers and the Knicks Thursday.

Instead, there were banners.

Shortly after 11:32 p.m. when the Knicks had disposed of the Sixers, 118-115, to win the first-round series, the theme emerged.

Jalen Brunson, who tallied 41 points and led all scorers in the series, mentioned the Villanova NCAA tournament championship banners from 1985, 2016 and 2018. Knicks teammate Josh Hart was on the 2016 team with Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo with Brunson on the 2018 squad. Every time Brunson walks into Wells Fargo Center, he draws inspiration from above.

“It’s definitely a special place to play,” Brunson said. “This place meant a lot to us … I just think that no matter who’s in front of us we’re going to go out there and play our style of basketball and grind. We just found ways to win. Found ways to lose, too.”

Hart finished with 16 points, including a killer of a late 3-pointer, along with 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks, who open the Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers. DiVincenzo added 23 points and seven assists, drilling five triples. Brunson had 12 assists and made 12 of 16 free throws on the road to 41.

“A lot of our guys don’t have a lot of playoff experience,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So, going through this is invaluable.”

Dead legs was the theme for the Sixers as they trailed by 19 points in the first quarter and by as much as 22 points in the first half. That was unbelievable considering that just two days ago, Tyrese Maxey played 52 minutes, Tobias Harris 40 and Joel Embiid 48. When Embiid headed to the locker room with four minutes left in the frame you wondered if the Sixers were done.

But Buddy Hield scored 17 points in the second quarter, connecting on 5 of 7 triples. It was a career moment for Hield, who sat out the previous two games because Nick Nurse preferred other matchups. The Sixers led by four points at the half, the bench outscoring their Knicks’ counterparts by a laughable 30-0.

The second half was different as Embiid found the basket and finished with 39 points while Kelly Oubre added 17 points. But Tyrese Maxey was unable to find a rhythm largely because of DiVincenzo’s defense, and managed just 17 points on 18 shots from the field.

“I was locked in on that matchup from the beginning,” DiVincenzo said. “That got me going. When you’re playing with unselfish guys you’re going to get open looks. The thing about this group is no matter what, the adversity we’ve had all year long, everybody said we were too small. But you outwork them, you stay together.

“We have a great friendship. We love each other like brothers.”

Ultimately the Sixers went cold when it counted, Embiid fouling out with 11 seconds remaining. And the Knicks made their free throws.

The Sixers lost their 17th straight series after trailing 3-2.

Make no mistake, the Nova connection and those symbols of victory hanging in the rafters had a lot to do with it.

“It’s easier when you have two guys that you’ve played with,” Brunson said of Hart and DiVincenzo. “So, you know when things get heated it’s coming from the right place. And then that translates to everybody.”

Source: Berkshire mont