Knicks’ trio of Villanova stars help them advance to 2nd round

NBA

“The fourth quarter was just one big play after the next.”

By DAN GELSTON, Associated Press

May 3, 2024 | 9:12 a.m.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Josh Hart shook a box of candy — “Mike and Ike, baby!” — to explain where he found the burst of energy needed to score the game-winning 3-pointer in Game 6. Hart then turned to his left and raised his right hand, expecting some love from Jalen Brunson.

Brunson left Hart hanging.

“Don’t hit him,” New York Knicks teammate Donte DiVincenzo said.

Brunson joked that, yes, it was the movie theater snacks that fueled Hart during the playoffs.

“It’s Mike and Ike’s. It’s popcorn,” Brunson said.

Hart then tossed some fruit-flavored candies to reporters and encouraged them to try the candies. DiVincenzo buried his head in a microphone, unable to keep a straight face on a stage he shared with his two teammates.

Bonded by their desire to win a championship in New York — the Knicks’ 118-115 Game 6 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night sent them to the second round — the trio is best known for their championship runs at Villanova.

They’re all doing their part to win an NBA ring.

Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright, former Villanova coach and noted 76ers fan, was surely proud somewhere at the end of Game 6.

Take a look at the final stats from Game 6: DiVincenzo made five 3s and scored 23 points in 48 minutes; Brunson had 41 points and 12 assists and was the first NBA player to score 40 or more to close a series since Michael Jordan for Chicago against Cleveland in 1989; Hart hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 24.4 seconds left and scored 16 points.

As thick as brothers, right?

“I can’t stand these guys,” DiVincenzo deadpanned.

After the giggles died down, Hart then patted DiVincenzo’s knee and said they had “a great friendship.”

“On a more serious note,” DiVincenzo interjected, “I think on the field you have the ability to bring everyone together, make adjustments, have that open line of communication without anyone being offended. I think everyone’s goal here is to win. It’s easier when you have two guys you’ve played with (before). You know, sometimes when things get heated, you know it’s coming from the right place.

The Nova trio – and the rest of the Knicks – have at least one more round left in them.

The Knicks are set for an Eastern Conference semifinal against Indiana. The Pacers beat Milwaukee in six games and advanced to the second round for the first time in 10 years. The first match will take place Monday evening in New York.

The Knicks are advancing to the second round in consecutive years for the first time since the 1992-2000 playoffs, and even then, no one has done what Brunson did in this series by scoring 40 or more points in each of the last three matches. He became the first Knick to do so since Bernard King 40 years ago.

In a series defined by close games, Hart made the game-clinching shot that made it 114-111 and once again called out “Let’s go, Knicks!” Let’s go, Knicks! » chants echoing throughout the Philadelphia field.

“The fourth quarter was just one big play after the next,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The fourth quarter was just one big “Let’s go Knicks” roar after the next.

The Sixers’ strategy heading into Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series was to keep Knicks fans out of the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.

Team owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman and former minority owner Michael Rubin joined forces Wednesday to purchase more than 2,000 tickets that they distributed to people who serve the Philadelphia community.

It worked for about three quarters. In the end, though, Knicks fans turned South Philly into a little corner of Madison Square Garden.

“We knew it was going to be a tough environment,” Hart said. “A little harder than (Game 4) because 2,500 seats were occupied.”

Just wait until they get back to the real deal at MSG next week.

Brunson hugged team president Leon Rose before walking out the tunnel to say “MVP!” MVP!” chants from the orange-and-blue-clad fans who stayed until the end – ready for another series to come.