DEFENDERS HAD SWARMED Jalen Brunson with less than 30 seconds remaining in last season's pivotal Game 6, a first-round contest that would either bring the Philadelphia 76ers even with the New York Knicks or propel New York to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Brunson drove left, but 76ers 7-foot center Joel Embiid walled off the paint as Nicolas Batum and Kelly Oubre Jr. chased from behind. But Brunson, in the midst of a third-straight 40-point performance, didn't pull out one of his crafty moves to sneak by Embiid or lure another Philly defender into a foul.