3 observations after the Sixers’ season ended with a wild Game 6 loss to the Knicks originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
The clock struck midnight on the Thursday of the Sixers’ season at the Wells Fargo Center.
In an absolutely wild, late-night, back-and-forth game, the Sixers fell to a 118-115 Game 6 loss to the Knicks.
Buddy Hield (20 points) was no closer to a long, desperate attempt to tie the game in the final seconds.
Joel Embiid scored 39 points and 13 rebounds. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 41 points and 12 assists.
For the Sixers, Embiid is under contract and Tyrese Maxey is eligible for a five-year max contract. Additionally, the team is essentially a blank slate this summer.
Here are observations from the Sixers’ Game 6 loss:
Sixers start a nightmare
Brunson started the scoring with a fadeaway jumper at the end of the shot clock over Tobias Harris.
Donte DiVincenzo drained a second three-point chance, Isaiah Hartenstein hit a shot and the Knicks got off to a hot start. They opened 6 of 8 from the field and went up 17-4 after Maxey knocked down Brunson on a long-range jumper and New York’s star goaltender made all three of his foul shots.
Brunson was characteristically composed and experienced to start the game. He clearly wasn’t disheartened by the Knicks’ bitter and stunning finish Tuesday night in his Game 5 overtime loss.
Embiid got the Sixers on the board with a face-up jumper over Hartenstein. He made a poor early turnover by throwing a pass to the third line, but Embiid, on the other hand, was on his game offensively. He scored the Sixers’ first nine points, made their first three field goals and drew Hartenstein’s second foul at 6:22 of the first quarter.
Maxey’s Game 5 Magic was not present at the start of Game 6. He was 1-for-5 from the floor in the first quarter and turned the ball over on a poorly executed pick-and-pop with Embiid. The 23-year-old tried to immediately respond to a three from DiVincenzo, but his jumper went left. The Knicks’ lead grew to 28-9 on a layup by OG Anunoby and Sixers coach Nick Nurse blew his second timeout of the first period.
The Knicks had an excellent first quarter, but the Sixers were decisively inferior in terms of agility and focus. New York grabbed nine offensive boards in the first period and had just one turnover. The Sixers’ deficit grew to 22 points.
Prepare as prepared as possible
Hield certainly moved on with Nurse’s request to be ready.
After playing 84 regular season games, Hield struggled in his first career playoff action. He was 1-of-7 from the field in Games 1-3 and his only basket was a layup. The 31-year-old sharpshooter was out of the nurse rotation for Games 4 and 5.
Hield wants to spend hours on the court, shooting and preparing behind the scenes, which evidently made him well-suited to advance in Game 6. Still, an elimination game is very different from a long practice with assistant coach Rico Hines and Sixers player development staff. With Nurse looking for shots or anything that would change the look of the game, Hield showed some early rust. He missed a pass early in the second quarter and failed to look as the shot clock expired, turning the ball over.
However, Hield hit his first shot, hitting a go-ahead jumper. He then did it again, swinging a catch-and-shoot three at an Embiid plate.
Hield ran out of there. He made a trio of threes at the end of the second, hear “Bud-dy, Bu-dy!” sings at the foul line and played a giant role in erasing the Sixers’ deficit. The Knicks looked as shaky as they have in every series. Anunoby even missed an uncontested dunk.
Unlike Nurse, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau maintained a seven-player rotation. Hield scored 17 points in the first half, Nicolas Batum added 10 and the Sixers had a 30-0 bench lead at halftime.
Brunson, Knicks a little better amid chaos
The Sixers benefited from the Knicks’ inevitable cooldown, but they also increased their defensive intensity after the first quarter.
They were anything but perfect, but the Sixers scrambled, closed strong and played with obvious desperation as they dug themselves out of the early hole.
Embiid made two threes in the first minute of the second half. The scrappy Knicks, predictably, responded well. Josh Hart’s layup cut the Sixers’ lead to 62-61.
The momentum shifted throughout the third quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr. stole a play after the timeout and smiled as he drove in for a slam. Maxey managed to steal the Knicks’ next possession, then exceeded his first-half scoring total by hitting a pull-up three.
In addition to Maxey’s decreased offensive production, the Sixers received zero points from Harris and Kyle Lowry in the game. Harris’ last five-year, $180 million contract was scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting.
The Sixers needed a big scoring performance from Embiid and he delivered, providing several key goals in the third quarter whenever the Knicks generated a few consecutive stops.
Batum and Cameron Payne knocked down threes late in the third quarter, but the Knicks were relentless. The Sixers were furious that Maxey didn’t get any calls on a layup attempt. Seconds later, Anunoby hit a three to end the contest at 83 apiece.
Nurse didn’t try to play Embiid throughout the second half like he did in Game 4. Instead, Paul Reed came in to start the fourth quarter and Hield joined him. Both players grabbed the offensive boards on a single possession, allowing Oubre to hit a three, but the Knicks kept scoring and held a 92-88 lead when Embiid returned.
Another three from Hield cut that deficit to one point and the Sixers briefly regained the lead when the 35-year-old Batum (16 points, seven rebounds) jumped high for a dunk.
Brunson then came out with a superstar stretch. He drilled three in a row to give his team a 101-95 lead. Maxey responded with a steal and a layup, but the Sixers ultimately needed one more improbable comeback.
Brunson did an impressive job of both pushing the ball when the Knicks had transition chances and making excellent decisions in the final seconds of the shot clock. His mid-range jumper with 3:26 left put the Knicks ahead by eight points.
The Sixers were still far from finished. They attacked Brunson, called some gutsy stops, and got back within one point on an Oubre hit. A Maxey layup and a goaltender evened the game at 111 all.
The Sixers successfully forced the ball out of Brunson’s hands on the next play, but Hart decided to shoot a three and dunk it with 24.4 seconds left.
Embiid then quickly put the ball away on the Sixers’ next possession. However, the Sixers were unable to create a comeback and Embiid fouled Donte DiVincenzo with 11.1 seconds left.
Crucially, this was Embiid’s sixth personal, meaning his night was over. DiVincenzo and Brunson made their free throws and the Sixers faced the cruel reality of a seventh consecutive playoff appearance that didn’t last beyond the second round.
