The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a critical win on Wednesday to draw a first-round series against the New York Knicks.

After finishing the regular season in seventh place, the Philadelphia 76ers had to earn their playoff spot through the play-in tournament. They hosted Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat Wednesday night, with the winner being locked in as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Despite having a little cushion, Batum did everything in his power to make sure the Sixers punched their ticket to the playoffs as early as Wednesday night. After the game, he revealed his honest motivation behind becoming the team’s biggest spark in his final 17 minutes.

“Even though if we still lose that game we get another chance Friday — but I think that was my main motivation — I didn’t want to play Friday. I needed those two days,” Batum said with a laugh. “That was a big team win. The crowd was into it. We played bad in the first half, and their zone is really something. We did a good job, we adjusted, and we were more aggressive in the second half.”

Batum attempted a team-high ten shots from the field in the second half. Eight of those shots came from beyond the arc. From deep, Batum hit on five of his eight attempts, and he shot 60 percent from the field overall. The veteran scored 17 points as the Sixers put together a 66-53 rally in the second half, allowing them to pull off a one-point comeback win over Miami.

He finished the game with 20 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.

These teams were neck-and-neck in their matchups during the regular season, and that carried over into Wednesday. The Sixers managed to claw their back in the second half, which caused the game to go down to the final seconds. In the end, Joel Embiid and company walked out with a 105-104 win.

Following this victory, many people rushed to social media to share their thoughts on the action. Among those to do so was Philly-area rapper Lil Dicky. He was blown away by Nic Batum, who was one of the biggest storylines in this matchup.

Batum came off the bench against Miami but still managed to have a massive impact on both ends. In 27 minutes of action, the veteran forward finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and a big block in the fourth quarter.

With this win, the Sixers can now start looking ahead to the postseason. On Saturday night, they will begin their first-round series with Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Since the series is set in stone now, Lil Dicky also put his prediction on social media. He is siding with the Sixers to advance in five games.

The Sixers will look to have better fortune against the Knicks in the playoffs. In the regular season series, New York won three of the four matchups. Now riding a nine-game winning streak, Philly will attempt to keep riding their positive momentum.