On April 23, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued, the Knicks narrowly defeated the 76ers 104-101 at home, and at the end of the game, the 76ers once led by 5 points, but Brunson and DiVincenzo hit 2 three-pointers in a row, and the Knicks directly completed the overtake, scoring 6 points in 14 seconds, which is really amazing. The 76ers unfortunately lost, falling behind 0-2, in fact, the 76ers had a chance to win both games, and they only lost by 10 points combined, which is a pity.
The 76ers' Embiid scored 34 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, and missed a three-point shot in the final minute, while Maxey had 35 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, shooting 12-of-22 from the field, and his overall performance was even better than that of the Emperor. Harris had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, Oubre had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, Lowry had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block on 2-of-6 shooting, and Batum had 6 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. The Knicks' Brunson chipped in 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Hart had 21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and his performance on both offensive and defensive ends was at the superstar level, Hartenstein had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, and DiVincenzo had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Knicks don't have a superstar, except for Brunson, other starters can only play on the bench on other teams, but now they can win the 76ers in a row, and Thibodeau's coaching ability is undoubted.
The Knicks were able to lead the 76ers 2-0 and send Embiid to a second straight playoff defeat, and the biggest contributor was Lakers veteran Hart. In the series G1, Hart scored 22 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists on 5-of-12 shooting, 4-of-8 three-pointers and 8-of-10 free throws, and in the second game, Hart broke out again, even crazier than in the first game, scoring 21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks on 7-of-16 shooting, adding up to 43 points and 28 rebounds in the two games.
Now the biggest regret is the Lakers, who originally had an extremely good swingman at the front, but they saw Hart away. In 2019, in order to get Brother Thick Eyebrows, the Lakers sent away Hart, Ingram and other stars in a three-way trade, but only Kuzma remained, and it turned out that Kuzma was also embarrassed and finally left the Lakers. In fact, Hart was only 25 years old at the time, and the Lakers could have kept him to continue to develop, after all, Hart's performance with the Lakers was not bad. It was certainly the right decision for the Lakers to trade for the 19-20 championship, but sending Hart away only shows that the management has no vision.
Hart has now become an absolute workhorse for the Knicks, and his ability to play at the top of the playoff arena is enough to show how good he is. Moreover, in the series G2, Hart played a full 48 minutes to match James, in the past 10 years, few players have not rested for a minute in the playoffs, James is one of them, and now this one is the Lakers veteran Hart, who is really a physical monster, and Hart's contract is not large, and he is one of the most cost-effective stars in the league.
If the Knicks defeat the 76ers to advance to the semifinals, Hart is the first hero, he will definitely get a big contract, and New York basketball has a strong atmosphere, and the home ticket price is far higher than that of the Lakers, Green Army, Nuggets and other giants, and Hart's commercial value will be greatly increased. Next, the Knicks will travel to Philadelphia for two consecutive road games, and winning one of them will essentially lock up the Eastern Conference semifinals.