Sixers-Knicks news: Joel Embiid powers Sixers to home victory over Knicks, bringing series to 2-1

Now we know why Joel Embiid wore sunglasses this week.

The 76ers center has been receiving treatment for a mild case of Bell’s palsy for the past week. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder started dealing with the condition before the Sixers’ NBA Play-In Tournament victory over the Miami Heat on April 17.

Let’s begin with the first half. It’s a worthy starting point, because it does a lot to explain how a player so talented can have so many detractors. No doubt, you’ve heard them. You may be one of them yourself.

The dynamic has always been a curious one. In a lot of cities, Joel Embiid would be known only by the balance of his account.

Joel Embiid had already splashed four shots from beyond the arc. In the third quarter.

But then he baited New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein into a his fifth foul with more than seven minutes to play in Thursday’s final period, then sank all three foul shots to re-extend the Sixers' Game 3 advantage.

The Sixers beat the Knicks, 125-114, in Game 3 at the Wells Fargo Center, securing their first win of the best-of-seven playoff series.

Joel Embiid finished with 50 points while making 5-of-7 three-pointers. Tyrese Maxey added 25.

The Sixers used a 43-point third quarter to seize control of Game 3, taking a 98-85 lead into the fourth quarter.

Joel Embiid scored 18 points in the frame, while Maxey added 10. The Sixers stars had 35 and 21 points, respectively, to end the third.

All the pregame chatter was about De'Anthony Melton being available to play tonight in his latest comeback attempt from a spine issue. But it's been Cam Payne providing a massive burst off the bench, with eight points and two assists to help the Sixers retake the lead.

After hitting two three-pointers in rapid succession, he celebrated by skipping to the opposite end of the court.

The Sixers were pushed around against the Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.

Well, that’s definitely not the case in the first quarter of Game 3 Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

After news broke of a recent car accident possibly connected to Kelly Oubre Jr., the Sixers guard has made an instant impact in Game 3, hitting a quick three-pointer and adding a dunk within the first five minutes of the first quarter.

Oubre finished with four points in Game 2, though his main focus on the court this series appears to be guarding Knicks star Jalen Brunson. Oubre also had 10 points in Game 1.

When Miles McBride dumped Tyrese Maxey and scored over him in Game 2, no Sixer responded.

When Joel Embiid undercut Mitchell Robinson in Game 3, Donte DiVincenzo beefed with Embiid immediately.

The Sixers will need to see more from their bench to match the Knicks.

The Knicks got 42 points from their bench in Game 1, including 21 points from Miles McBride and 13 from Bojan Boganovic, while the Sixers’ bench added just seven points. While it was more even in Game 2, the Sixers still got just 10 points off the bench.

It is a mark of shame. It is a damning example of weak play. It is utterly astounding.

Tobias Harris averaged 3.0 free throws in the regular season, right about his career average. He hasn’t shot a free throw in two playoff games against the Knicks.

League sources have confirmed to The Inquirer's Gina Mizell that Sixers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. was involved in a car crash at 16th Street and Vine Street in Philadelphia following the team's Game 2 loss to the Knicks.

According the Philadelphia Police Department, the crash happened at around 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, hours after the team's loss at Madison Square Garden. Oubre's 2021 purple Lamborghini "disregarded a red traffic signal as it was driving northbound on 16th Street when it hit a 2023 Hyundai Elantra, which was traveling eastbound on Vine Street."

Do role players really play better at home? The Sixers have to hope so.

There’s an old bit of conventional wisdom that says role players tend to play better at home. I’m not sure how true it is, mostly because the generalization is far too sweeping and unspecific to really pin down. Do they shoot better at home? Probably, because everybody shoots better at home. And if we’re defining “role players” as non-stars, and the vast majority of players in the NBA are non-stars, then it would seem to follow that role players shoot better at home.

De’Anthony Melton is officially available to play in Game 3 of the 76ers’ first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, the team said, after spending much of the past four months dealing with a spine issue.

Melton has attempted to come back from the injury three times since early January, but has never made it more than three games before being sidelined again. But he went through Wednesday’s practice and said following the session that he expected to play Thursday.

After a controversial ending to Game 2 at Madison Square Garden — one that saw the NBA admit multiple last-minute mistakes that went against the Sixers — here's a look at the officiating crew of Thursday's Game 3: Zach Zarba, James Williams, and Kevin Cutler.

Zarba, who has 21 years of experience and has been a part of several NBA Finals, will serve as the crew chief. And according to Sporting News, his home/away splits have shifted slightly in favor of the home team this season.

For 48 hours, the public discussion around the 76ers revolved around those final crushing and chaotic seconds of Game 2, around the timeout that neither Nick Nurse nor Kyle Lowry called, around the fouls that the Knicks allegedly committed and the referees didn’t call, around a 104-101 loss that should have been a victory. The culmination of all that chatter was the NBA’s admission Tuesday that, well, yes, Maxey was fouled a time or two, and Nurse did signal that he wanted a timeout, and well, we and our esteemed officials will try to do better next time. What vindication for the Sixers. Good job filing that grievance, guys. Guess what? You’re still four whines away from the second round.

Oops. Sorry. Wins. Four wins away.

During the 2017 NBA draft — after already selecting Markelle Fultz with the first-overall pick — the Sixers had the chance to add another guard, one with local ties who also happens to be torching them in their first-round series against the Knicks: Villanova product Josh Hart.

Instead, the team took Anzejs Pasecniks, a Latvian player who never suited up for the Sixers, with the 25th-overall pick as part of a trade with the Magic. But Hart was hoping the Sixers would take him instead.

No Sixers team has ever come back to win a playoff series after trailing two games to none. The franchise is 0-20 when trying to pull off an 0-2 series comeback.

Not a good sign for the current Sixers, who are trailing 0-2 to the New York Knicks in their best-of-seven first-round series.

As the Sixers prepare to take the court in Philadelphia for another playoff game, concessions workers at Wells Fargo Center are going on strike for the second time this month.

The roughly 400 members of Unite Here Local 274 who work at the arena, employees of Aramark, called a work stoppage Thursday morning. Unlike the single-day strike on April 9, the union said this strike will continue until further notice.

Once again, Joel Embiid is listed as questionable on the Sixers' injury report ahead of tonight's Game 3 against the New York Knicks.

Embiid is also dealing with an unspecified left-eye injury he suffered during Game 1, but he is expected to play tonight, according to the Inquirer's Keith Pompey.

The Sixers are back in South Philly tonight looking for a much needed win against the New York Knicks in their first-round NBA playoff series.

The game will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia beginning at 7:30 p.m., with Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby on the call.