Sixers-Knicks: Joel Embiid, Philly eliminated from the playoffs in Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center

Give the Knicks credit. They wanted it.

Not as much as the referees wanted it for them.

The 76ers kept giving their fans hope.

Even after posting their worst regular-season winning percentage in seven seasons, there was belief the Sixers could make a deep postseason run. Joel Embiid’s return from knee surgery was supposed to make them tough to beat.

When it mattered the most, Jalen Brunson was the best player on the court in the fourth quarter of Game 6, leading the Knicks to a 118-115 victory, clinching the series at the Wells Fargo Center, 4-2.

Brunson burnt the Sixers for 41 points, including 14 in the final frame. He also added 12 assists.

Jalen Brunson has played in plenty of big games at the Wells Fargo Center, but this might have been the biggest — and he delivered. His 41 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter and two game-clinching free throws, helped the Knicks retake the lead and ultimately eliminate the Sixers in Game 6.

Tyrese Maxey added 12 points in the final frame and tied the game late with a layup and free throw, but the Knicks controlled most of the fourth quarter thanks to Brunson and ended the Sixers’ season.

Joel Embiid hasn't been as dominant in the second half, but it isn't for lack of tracking.

The big fella is working hard on the block to get open, but his teammates have struggled to make proper entry passes.

One day the New York Knicks will teach Isaiah Hartenstein about the rule of verticality.

Joel Embiid has placed the serviceable center in a torture chamber this series, using an array of spins, post-ups, and fadeaways to dismantle his defense. But the most devastating thing Embiid has done to Hartenstein is invade his space and draw fouls.

Tyrese Maxey is coming fresh off the best game of his career.

He scored 46 points and knocked down seven points in the final 25.4 seconds of regulation to force overtime and, ultimately, a Sixers overtime win in Game 5.

Daryl Morey and Buddy Hield just had a bad, bad week. Hield was reluctant to shoot in Games 1-3 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and didn’t play at all in Games 4 and 5. Morey acquired Hield at the trade deadline to add scoring, but had two points through five games.

So, lots of eyebrows raised when Hield entered for a random end-of-quarter in-bounds play as the first 12 minutes expired.

Welcome to the playoffs, Buddy Hield.

Hield had fallen out of the Sixers’ rotation prior to Game 6 in his first ever playoff appearance. In the second quarter, Hield made his presence felt, hitting five three-point shots to help the Sixers close the massive gap the Knicks opened up in the first quarter.

The Sixers crowd was ready from the jump. 

If only the Sixers themselves could say the same. The Knicks jumped out to a huge early lead, and Joel Embiid was the only Sixer to get on the board for the first eight minutes of the game. Embiid exited the game with just under four minutes to play, and then the Sixers finally started to see some production from players like Tyrese Maxey, Cam Payne, and Nico Batum, going on a run late in the first to bring the Knicks’ lead down to 14.

This is the rare game where getting the starter in foul trouble is actually a bad thing.

Isaiah Hartenstein went to the bench with two fouls midway through the first quarter, but reserve Mitchell Robinson has defended Joel Embiid better than any Knicks player in the series.

The 76ers and New York Knicks know their first-round series will be won on the margins. And in the rebounding battle.

"Keep them off the boards, try our best to play with pace, try to limit them to one shot," Cam Payne said when discussing priorities for Game 6. "That's really the main key, man. Try to limit them to one shot. They do a hell of a job on the rebounding end. Honestly, we take care of that I think we have a good chance."

The Pacers beat the Bucks, 120-98, on Thursday night, clinching their spot in the second round. The sixth-seeded Pacers will play the winner of the Knicks-Sixers series, and will have home-court advantage if Philadelphia advances.

The game eliminates former Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who took over as head coach in Milwaukee mid-season. Rivers hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2012, when he was head coach of the Celtics. Rivers and the Sixers were eliminated in the second round in each of his three years with the team.

There are a few overarching trends in the Sixers’ first-round series vs. the Knicks — rebounding, Joel Embiid’s injury, Jalen Brunson’s play — but ahead of Game 5, Nico Batum said the series was about “details.”

Now, heading into Game 6, coach Nick Nurse doesn’t know what to think of a series this close.

Joel Embiid has attempted 65 free throw attempts this series. That’s already tied for 20th all-time in a first-round series. At 13 attempts per game, he is within striking distance of Dwight Howard’s all-time (first-round) record of 88 in the 2010-11 playoffs. He needs 17 makes to tie DeMar DeRozan for most all-time in a first-round series.

Nick Nurse thinks there is even more meat on that bone.

The 76ers traded for Buddy Hield with the expectation that he would play a major roll shooting the ball and freeing space for Joel Embiid.

Three months removed from the deadline-day deal, that has not exactly come to fruition for Hield, who has played well in fits and starts and been removed from the playoff rotation. But rather than sulk, Hield offered encouragement for Maxey before he made two game-changing shots to secure overtime and, ultimately, a Game 5 win.

Though the Sixers’ must-win Game 6 is tonight, the aftermath of Tyrese Maxey’s miracle, season-saving shots at The Garden still lingered Thursday morning.

When asked where that stacks up in teammate playoff performances, reserve guard Cameron Payne replied with, "Ohhh, that’s No. 1, in my eyes."

Often cited as the most passionate fans in sports, Philly folks have never been mistaken for a fickle bunch.

That changed after the Sixers' 97-92 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks. Fans came under scrutiny after New Yorkers neutralized the Sixers' homecourt advantage and ran rampant in the Wells Fargo Center. They chanted, they cheered, they put a Knicks jersey on Wilt Chamberlain's statue.

The Sixers held their morning shootaround an hour later than normal Thursday, an adjustment for a rare 9 p.m. tipoff for Game 6.

The unusual start time is because both of Thursday’s playoff games are in the Eastern time zone, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff in Indianapolis between the Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks.

According to the Last Two Minute Report released by the NBA on Wednesday, officials missed several calls during the New York Knicks and Sixers’ wild Game 5 finish, including one on Tyrese Maxey’s four-point play that sparked a late rally, scoring seven points over a 17-second span.

The report stated that Maxey, who scored a game-high 46 points in the 112-106 win, traveled on the play that pulled the Sixers within two points with 25.1 seconds remaining. Officials say Maxey “gathers the ball on his left foot, takes two legal steps, and then moves his right foot again just before he is fouled on his shot.”

The Sixers are doing their best to keep New Yorkers out of Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, giving away 2,000 free tickets (or nearly 10% of the arena's capacity) to first responders and community organizations, and even a few to fans on the street.

But per some of the latest updates from TickPick, it looks like there still will be a contingent of Knicks fans at the game. As of Thursday morning, 35% of ticket-buyers on TickPick for Thursday night’s game are from Pennsylvania, TickPick confirmed to The Inquirer. But 24% of buyers are coming from New York, 18% from New Jersey, and another 8% from Delaware.

The vibe inside the 76ers practice facility was loose at the conclusion of Thursday morning’s shootaround.

Head coach Nick Nurse chatted with two assistants in the middle of the court. Meanwhile players were in a good mood while working on their three-point shots as music blared from the speakers nine hours before a must-win Game 6 against the Knicks.

The latest way the Sixers are trying to keep Knicks fans away from Game 6? Giving out free tickets to random Sixers fans around the city.

Of course, it's strange for Philly fans to be on the opposite end of one of these arena/stadium takeovers, after they've been the fanbase responsible for taking over other teams' home venues for years, especially when it comes to the Eagles. However, this is the not the first time we've seen this from New York fans, as Mets fans have been known to descend on Citizens Bank Park from time to time.

Nico Batum has been an X-factor for the 76ers against the New York Knicks in their first-round playoff series.

His play in Tuesday’s 112-106 Game 5 overtime victory is a major reason why the Sixers extended the series and have a chance to do so again on Thursday night. Batum is averaging 4.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 28.4 minutes while providing solid defense.

NBA official Scott Foster, who is best known for his personal feud with Warriors star Chris Paul, will be the crew chief for the Sixers' Game 6 matchup against the New York Knicks. Foster was also part of the officiating crew for Game 1, a 111-104 home win for the Knicks.

With the Sixers hoping to stave off elimination at home, Foster's assignment started conversations about the NBA's hopes of extending the series.

Knicks fans took over the Wells Fargo Center during Game 4 against the Sixers — to the chagrin and embarrassment of many in Philadelphia. Now, it seems like every high-profile former Sixer or Sixers fan is hopping in to ensure that never happens again.

Even before Wednesday’s announcement from Sixers ownership that they’ll buy 2,000 tickets to distribute to local Philadelphia first responders and community groups, famous fans like Dawn Staley and Lil Dicky were on X, formerly Twitter, encouraging fans not to sell their tickets. Coach Nick Nurse also urged fans to support the team on Thursday night.

The question for the Sixers isn’t whether they showed guts Tuesday night in staving off elimination. (They did.) It’s whether they can summon that same effort, or an effort close to it, on Thursday night for Game 6.

And the answer to that question is … uncertain at best.

The leaders of the 76ers’ ownership group, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and David Adelman, will join with Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin to buy and distribute more than 2,000 tickets to Sixers fans for Thursday’s Game 6 playoff matchup against the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center.

A team spokesperson said the tickets will be distributed to first responders, health-care professionals, community groups, and other Philly-based organizations to “harness the intensity and excitement” for a crucial matchup at the South Philly arena.

The Sixers are back in Philadelphia tonight looking to avoid elimination against the New York Knicks, but fans will have to stay up a bit later to see if Philly can force a Game 7.

Tonight's game will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia beginning at 9 p.m., with Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby on the call.

The (No. 1) Boston Celtics defeated the (No. 8) Miami Heat in their first-round playoff series 4-1. The Celtics will face the winner of the Cavaliers-Heat series.

Here's how things stack up in the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday: