The New York Knicks completed a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, guaranteeing that The Process would once again fail to produce an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
But the most devastating blow to Philadelphia sports fans may truly have come from Josh Hart after the game. The do-it-all wing knows the city well, having played a role in the procurement of the championship banners most recently hung from the roof of Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Hart's familiarity with Philadelphia from his time at Villanova is what made his postgame burn even more painful after the sweep, with the wing telling reporters that he's no longer sure about Philly being a "sports town." Ouch, dude.
Hart pours salt in wounds of Philadelphia fans with terse diss
After mounting a 3-1 comeback against the Boston Celtics, fans of the Sixers were expected to come out in droves to support their quest for revenge against the Knicks. The team even pulled out ticket sale-related stops, requiring zip code verification to ensure that only local fans were filling the arena's seats in Games 3 and 4.
Fans of the Knicks didn't seem to care at all. They found a way to make a takeover happen, twice. And Tyrese Maxey getting booed at the free throw line throughout their final loss in Game 4 tells the story.
Hart made things even worse with his comments to reporters after the game.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don’t know anymore,” the 30-year-old joked with Kristian Winfield and other reporters after the Knicks advanced to the conference finals again.
The Philadelphia Eagles will likely continue to torture the New York Giants in seasons to come. Their fans will continue to use Amtrak to take MetLife Stadium over. But, at least when things are going down on the hardwood, New York is clearly on top.
The Knicks' series win over the Sixers in 2024 was just the second that Jalen Brunson had led them to, following their victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers from the season prior. With Michael Jordan-esque scoring numbers, the guard proved that he can certainly look the part of a championship "1A," even if national pundits didn't agree.
It was generally viewed as a toss-up between New York and Philly two years ago, with the Knicks earning a modicum of respect from the league landscape by closing out a win in six games.
Ahead of this year's series, several analysts went back to the well and decided that Philadelphia would get it done this time.
They were rewarded, to some extent, by finding out as soon as possible that they were going to be terribly wrong. The Knicks came out looking like they were the far better team.
And even after OG Anunoby unfortunately sprained his hamstring in Game 2, they kept it that way for the rest of the – short – series.
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