Game 4 of the New York Knicks and the 76ers’ first-round series did take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, despite reasons to believe otherwise.
If you watched the game, that fact may not have been clear as Knicks fans flooded the arena and found ways to drown out the home supporters.
Philadelphia sports fans are known as some of the most animated but they seemingly met their match as New York took Game 4, and a 3-1 series lead, while Knicks faithful celebrated all over the 76ers crowd.
Jalen Brunson scored a Knicks playoff franchise record 47 points to lead his team to victory and was greeted by MVP chants despite being in supposed enemy territory.
Meanwhile, the reigning league MVP Joel Embiid was not a fan of the situation. After the game, Embiid said he was “disappointed” by Knicks fans taking over the arena.
“I love our fans, (but) I think it’s unfortunate,” Embiid said to reporters postgame. “I’ve never seen it (like this) and I’ve been here for 10 years … kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town.
“They’ve always shown up and I don’t think that should happen”
The hometown star put up an impressive 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the loss. However, Embiid was completely neutralized in the final minutes as OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa combined to limit him to just three points through the final 13.5 minutes of the game, all of which came at the free throw line.
Knicks fans didn’t stop there as they took the cheering (and jeering) outside Wells Fargo Center, rubbing in the victory as much as possible.
Fans were seen chanting things like “Knicks in five,” while trashing 76ers merchandise and selling Knicks t-shirts.
And it wasn’t just regular fans, even New York celebrities were getting involved in the fun. Former Knicks guard John Starks was seen taunting the home crowd throughout the game and superfan Spike Lee joined in on a “Philly sucks” chat with fans watching from Brooklyn.
Game 5 tips off on Tuesday in actual New York as the Knicks host the 76ers, looking to end the series and advance into the second round.
