Knicks at 76ers Game 6 Preview: How, Who to Watch
The New York Knicks can only hope that April showers give way to May flowers.
Some cried, others are perspiring further after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Tuesday night, one that saw the Knicks lose a late six-point lead in approximately 20 seconds en route to a 112-106 defeat. The resulting sixth game will be staged at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night as the first round of the NBA Playoffs begins to wind down.
The Knicks are looking to earn playoff series victories in consecutive seasons for the first time since the turn of the century and will return to the scene of one of their most brilliant capers yet. New York split the regularly scheduled pair of games on Brotherly Love hardwood, the win being a 97-92 thriller in Game 4. Jalen Brunson scored a Knicks single-game postseason record 47 points to post a 3-1 series lead and give his team three clinching opportunities.
What: New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 6 (Knicks lead series 3-2)
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
When/Watch: Thursday, 9 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT
Who's Favored: PHI -3.5
Keep An Eye On: Miles McBride
Little more needs to say about McBride's breakout: he was always well-regarded for his defense, which assured him at least some semblance of a roster spot, McBride's unexpected scoring has been a major x-factor in the Knicks' ongoing run. He's averaging 13 points off the bench over the first five games on an even 50 percent shooting, but it may be time to get back to basics on Thursday. It's no secret that Tyrese Maxey has been a metropolitan killer in this series, and that was most prominent on Tuesday night, when Maxey forced overtime on his own. The Knicks will need McBride to resume his primary perimeter defensive depth duties if they have any intention of taking care of business when it matters most.
Sixer to Watch: Tyrese Maxey
The Knicks have proven that they're capable of surviving an exclusivedual Maxey/Joel Embiid breakout, as secondary scoring (with the occasional exception of Kelly Oubre) has mostly been shut down. A Maxey deluge, on the othr hand, has proven to be deadly: the Knicks were able to hold Embiid to 7-of-19 from the field on Tuesday but Maxey had 46 to shift momentum back in Philadelphia's corner. The 76ers are 7-3 this season when Maxey reaches at least 35 points ... but the Knicks are responsibe for two of those losses. Even so, it's clear that Maxey has become the 76ers' postseason MVP of this series, especiallywith Embiid potentially ailing from lingering meniscus aftershocks.
They Said It
“It’s frustrating, obviously, the way it happened. But we can’t hang our heads. We have to come back stronger, be ready to go, and just learn from what we did ... I think we just have to be on the same page; all five of us. I think some of us thought we were going to foul and we weren’t, and that’s on me. I have to be ready to communicate things like that on the court. Yeah, I've got to do a better job leading.”-Jalen Brunson on Game 5's heartbreaking ending (h/t Aaron Carter, Philadelphia Inquirer)
Prediction
Once again, few teams in basketball have achieved more manageable goals in decisive fashion than the Knicks, and Thursday present one of their biggest opportunities yet. Sure, there's one more opportunity if things go wrong in Philly, but no one in the Knicks organization wants to take that chance. New York has been masters of not letting a crisis carry a lasting impression. There's no great manageable crisis than what transpired on Tuesday, so Thursday is a chance for the Knicks to show who they really are.
Knicks 107, 76ers 103
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks