By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Jalen Brunson scored 41 points to help his New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday and clinch a 4-2 best-of-seven victory.
Brunson had 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter while also adding 12 assists in a hotly-contested game at the 76ers’ Wells Fargo Center.
His final assist went to Josh Hart who drilled the game winning three-pointer with 24.4 seconds remaining, stunning the Philadelphia fans in attendance and sending New York to the next round.
It brings to an end a fiery series played out over six hard-fought games, encounters filled with angst which left players with bumps and bruises.
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, even with the lead that we had,” Brunson told TNT after the game. “We tried to play with the lead, but we knew they were going to keep fighting.
“Every game has been like this. It’s not how you start, it just matters how you finish it.”
Brunson shot 13-for-27 from the field as well as 12-for-16 at the free-throw line in Game 6. In total, it was his third straight 40-plus-point game as he built upon his excellent regular season in New York.
Donte DiVincenzo added 23 points, while Hart finished with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The 76ers were unable to find the winning touch at the crunch moments against a rugged Knicks team, despite Joel Embiid pouring in 39 points in the losing effort.
Embiid has soldiered through his own ailments, first a knee injury which took him out for a good chunk of the regular season and then he revealed he had been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy.
But despite this, Embiid was close to his dominant best and almost helped force a Game 7.
“I thought [Embiid] was tremendous tonight,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said afterwards. “He had a lot of things going on. He fought through a lot of adversity.”
Nurse added: “I give both teams a lot of credit for how they fought and how they played. I give them a lot of credit for hitting a big [three-pointer].
“The series could have went the exact opposite than it did, but it didn’t, so congratulations to them for finishing on a positive side.”
The 76ers advance to face the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On Thursday, the Pacers won their Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 4-2 best-of-seven victory.
Game 1 of the Knicks-Pacers series will begin on Monday in New York.
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