Sixers' season ends in 118-115 Game 6 loss to Knicks, despite Joel Embiid's 39 points

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 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.

But in reality, while they might have been better with him, they just weren’t good enough to get out of the first round. On Thursday night, they suffered a 118-115 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The game wasn’t decided until Buddy Hield missed a three-pointer right before the final buzzer.

Knicks All-Star and former Villanova standout Jalen Brunson finished with game highs of 41 points and 12 assists. 14 of Brunson’s points came in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Knicks forward Josh Hart, another former Villanova standout, added 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Seven of his rebounds came in the fourth quarter.

Embiid paced the Sixers with 39 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 11.1 seconds left. Hield was the Sixers’ second-leading scorer with 20 points. Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17 points each. Nico Batum added 16 points. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris failed to score on 0-for-2 shooting in what might be his last game in a Sixers uniform.

This loss concluded seven straight postseason appearances by the Sixers. Of the seven, this was the second time they failed to advance beyond the first round. They were swept by the Boston Celtics in the opening round in 2020. The Sixers suffered second-round exits the five other times.

Thursday’s loss dropped them to 46-51 in games when facing elimination.

On this night, the Sixers battled back from a 22-point first-quarter deficit and built a 10-point cushion of their own. And like has been the case most of the series, the game was decided in the final seconds.

Maxey knotted the score at 111 on a three-point play with 34.9 seconds remaining. The Knicks called timeout. Hart was left wide open and buried a three-pointer on an assist from Brunson to give New York a 114-111 lead with 24.4 ticks left.

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