Despite the 76ers’ best efforts, they couldn’t keep Knicks fans out of Philadelphia.
Scores of Knicks supporters made the trek to Pennsylvania to see their team roll to a 108-94 Game 3 win over the Sixers to take a 3-0 second-round series lead.
Not only were the blue-and-orange supporters cheering on the Knicks, but there were audible boos inside Xfinity Mobile Arena when 76ers star Joel Embiid went to the foul line.
Moreover, there were cheers when he missed a shot from the charity stripe.
Fans in the lower bowl were seen waving towels and chanting “Let’s go Knicks” as the victory became inevitable in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
The group of fans, as they exited arena were yelling a few things in exultation, including a “f–k Embiid” chant and “Knicks in four.”
Much like celebrity row at Madison Square Garden, the stars and A-listers came down to Philadelphia.
That included Knicks superfans Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Spike Lee and Fat Joe, who were all shown on the Amazon Prime broadcast with smiles as New York rolled in the second half.
The 76ers, before Game 3, donated 500 tickets for each of the remaining home playoff games this round in hopes of keeping their home, well, a home.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who led Philly with 22 points, was asked how his team handled the throngs of supporters for the visiting squad.
He said that the arena was going to be loud no matter what and that’s it up to his group to keep the focus on what matters.
“I could say something that could get clickbaited, but I’m not. At the end of the day, we’re the show on the court. We’re not necessarily focused on the crowd, the things like that,” Oubre said. “Obviously, we need it. We love it and we love our fans. But at the end of the day, we have to lock in on our task. We have to figure out our game plan, just have a tight huddle.
“No matter what, it’s loud. It’s kind of the same no matter who the crowd is cheering for. It’s loud. We have to be focused on the task at hand and just kind of have a short-term memory when it comes to things like that.”
What matters for Philadelphia now is the 3-0 hole, as one more loss would end the season.
Whether one 76ers fan’s ploy to increase Amtrak ticket prices for Knicks fans for Sunday remains to be seen.
