Brunson finished with 41 points and 12 assists as the New York Knicks went on the road to eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-115 in a back-and-forth Game 6 that capped a back-and-forth series.

The 76ers came back from a 22-point deficit early, then erased an eight-point lead to tie the game with 35 seconds to go, despite Brunson’s heroics.

He had some help from his former Wildcat teammates, part of a Villanova team that won national titles in 2016 and 2018. The 6-foot-5 Hart had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

While Hart missed a free throw that could have given the Knicks a two-possession lead ahead of Tyrese Maxey’s game-tying three in Game 5, he hit a big three-pointer of his own with 24 seconds left.

DiVincenzo, who was the Most Outstanding Player in 2018 NCAA Tournament, had 19 points and hit five three-pointers in the game. He made two clutch free throws with 11 seconds left to give New York a three-point lead. DiVincenzo finished with 23 points, seven assists, two steals and three big blocks.

Perhaps most impressive is how many minutes the Villanova trio logged, perhaps a sign of some next-level cardio training at the school. Brunson played 44 minutes, Hart played 46 and DiVincenzo played a full 48 minutes, never sitting at any point. Did former coach Jay Wright have a cross country running program?

New York moves on to play the Indiana Pacers in the second round, a team with zero Villanova players. The players from Villanova will probably celebrate by running 10 miles on a treadmill.