PHILADELPHIA — Thursday wasn’t just about the 76ers facing the Knicks and elimination.
It was about Philadelphia facing the prospect of getting embarrassed again by New York.
It was about Wells Fargo Center being overrun by Knicks fans and this supposed sports town getting taken over by Big Brother up the Turnpike.
After a stunning number of Knick fans had made their loud presence known in Games 3 and 4 at Wells Fargo Center, they seemed set to pull off a repeat performance with a chance to eliminate the Sixers in Game 6.
Roughly 15 percent of the crowd Thursday night were Knick fans, Vivid Seats’ Fan Forecast projected using proprietary data.
And this was despite the 76ers and their ownership doing everything to avoid a Big Apple takeover, from begging to buying tickets.
“Disappointed. I love our fans. I think it’s unfortunate — and I’m not calling them out — but it is disappointing,” Joel Embiid said after the Knicks’ fans helped spur their team to a comeback victory in Game 4.
“Obviously you got a lot of Knicks fans, they’re down the road. I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up. I don’t think that should happen. Yeah, it’s not OK.”
Embiid has seen plenty, the MVP booed at times by his home fans. But that was a town with high expectations spurring him on.
This was different. And more galling.
That’s why 76ers ownership and ex-minority owner Michael Rubin purchased 2,000 tickets for Game 6 in an attempt to block New York fans.
“It should be turnt. It should’ve been turnt Game 3 and Game 4; it shouldn’t take all that. It should’ve been turnt from the jump,” said Cam Payne, chastising this supposed sports town.
“We’re out there giving it our all; we want the fans to come out there and give it their all. That’s just how I go by. I don’t know how Philly is. But Joel says it’s a sports town. It’s my first time really experiencing (it), so I want to see it.”
By “all that,” Payne meant giving away thousands of tickets.
Wednesday — the day after the Sixers’ Game 5 comeback in the Garden — Rubin had announced that he’d teamed up with owners 76ers Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman to buy “more than 2,000” tickets for Game 6.
The Fanatics CEO said the tickets would be given to “first responders, health care professionals and other local Philadelphia-based organizations.”
But at midday there were still seats left in the 100 section of Wells Fargo on StubHub.
And at night, there were plenty of Knicks fans expected in the building.
“I’d say we all can do better, right? I think we deserve better,” said 76ers coach Nick Nurse. “I think we need to coach better; the players are going to try to play better. I think we all can do better. We need everybody’s support, man, for sure. I think the team’s playing its guts out.”