Brunson, Hart clutch plays lift Knicks by Sixers in 6, into East semis - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — The Villanova boys did it again.

Jalen Brunson had 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and hit Josh Hart for his 12th assist, and what became the winning 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, as the New York Knicks escaped from Wells Fargo Center with a thrilling 118-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of this first-round series.

With the win, New York finally managed to dispatch the 76ers after six remarkable games, outscoring Philadelphia over those 293 minutes by a single point.

«They're a really good team,» Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo said, the other Villanova product on the Knicks and who helped limit Tyrese Maxey to 17 points on 18 shots in Thursday's victory. «They have really good players, and they're really well coached.

»They're not a normal 7-seed… [but] you work, you stay together, and this is what happens."

For the Knicks, this is advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for a second consecutive season — a feat the franchise hasn't accomplished since 2000, when it did so for a ninth straight time. There, they'll face off against the Indiana Pacers in a series that begins Monday at Madison Square Garden.

To get there, New York had to survive a grueling six games against a 76ers team featuring the league's Most Valuable Player in Joel Embiid, an emerging All-Star in Maxey and a deep, versatile roster that won roughly 80% of its games when Embiid was in uniform during the regular season.

But a meniscus injury kept Embiid out for two months, and it knocked the 76ers into the play-in tournament — meaning they would face New York in one of the marquee matchups of the playoffs' opening round.

Each game was a tight and taut affair — and this one was no different.

Ultimately,