The New York Knicks are in full control of their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, just like their fans were in full control of the Wells Fargo Center by the end of Sunday’s 97-92 victory.
New York fans were chanting “MVP” for Jalen Brunson and made their presence known on the road during Game 4 to the point 76ers star Joel Embiid expressed his disappointment:
“Disappointing. I love our fans,” Embiid https://twitter.com/Krisplashed/status/1784691766689403198.
“Think it’s unfortunate and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously you got a lot of Knicks fans and they’re down the road and 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. I don’t think that should happen.”
On the other side was Brunson, who was brilliant throughout the win and told reporters, “This Philadelphia fanbase is very relentless, very passionate, I’m an Eagles fan I would know. But seeing the Knicks here and hearing the Knicks here was pretty cool. It’s awesome.”
Perhaps if Philadelphia gave the home fans something to cheer about, the Knicks fans wouldn’t have been so loud.
New York outscored the 76ers by seven points in the second half thanks in large part to its effort level. The visitors grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to keep a number of possessions alive, which helped make up for their poor shooting from the outside (25.9 percent from three-point range).
The 76ers fans grew more frustrated with every offensive rebound, and it also didn’t help that nobody on Philadelphia could stop Brunson as he tallied 47 points and 10 assists.
The Knicks now lead the series 3-1 and can close it out in front of their own fans in Tuesday’s Game 5.
