Dozens of Knicks fans rode chartered buses to Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Friday night for Game 3, turning Joel Embiid’s public plea into a fresh round of road-trip theater in the Knicks - 76ers playoff series. The group came looking to help New York push for a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Big Knick Energy charged $75 for the round trip and said the shuttle was aimed at packing the arena with orange and blue, with fans also offered a ride for Sunday’s Game 4. Vincent Puleo said the point was to “really piss Philly fans off,” adding, “We weren’t gonna go until Embiid said something.” Another fan, Jake Bornstein of Dix Hills, said, “I think we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna overtake Philly.”
Embiid had set the tone last Saturday, when he said the 2024 playoff matchup felt like “[Philadelphia] was Madison Square Garden East” after Knicks fans flooded the city during an earlier series. He pleaded with 76ers fans not to sell their Friday night tickets to Knicks supporters, a request that only seemed to sharpen the response. “We’re gonna fill the place up with as many Knicks fans as possible,” Puleo said, while Huntington resident Justin Almonte shrugged off the warning: “Forget Embiid. Embiid could say whatever he wants. Embiid could tell us, ‘don’t sell the tickets to the Knicks fans.’ We’re taking over.”
The matchup had already become a showcase for New York’s traveling fan base after the Jalen Brunson-led Knicks beat the Hawks in six games and then won the first two games against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks organization has not won a championship since 1973, and the road crowd in Philadelphia was another sign of how far the team’s playoff run has carried its supporters.
The tension around Friday’s crowd was heightened by Embiid’s status on the injury report. He was listed as questionable, and 76ers coach Nick Nurse said before the game that he thought Embiid “is gonna give it a shot.” Even before the opening tip, the series had become as much about who would show up in the stands as who would control the game on the floor.
