PHILADELPHIA – Josh Hart came through.
The team’s grit-and-glue guy was left wide open on the perimeter and for the biggest Knicks shot of the evening.
He hesitated for a moment after the pass from Jalen Brunson and buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to eliminate the Sixers in Thursday’s 118-115 victory at Wells Fargo Center.
New York’s next opponent in Round 2 is the sixth-seeded Pacers, who eliminated the No. 3 Bucks in six games.
They’re trading one Tyrese (Maxey) for another (Haliburton).
Game 1 will be Monday at MSG.
The close and hard-fought Knicks-Sixers series fittingly came down to the final seconds, with a tie game before Hart’s clutch trey.
Up 3, the Knicks still needed to hit their free throws – and the other ‘Nova duo, Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, knocked down four consecutive in the final 11 seconds.
Two days after the point guard failed to come through in crunch time, Brunson was tremendous when it mattered most.
He finished with 41 points, carrying the Knicks in the final 6:30.
