Sixers season on the line after losing Game 3 to the Knicks; New York fans booed after interrupting moment of silence

The 76ers finally got something from their bench.

After Landry Shamet and the Knicks reserves completely outclassed the Sixers in the first half, Quentin Grimes emerged in the third and fourth quarters.

The reserve guard knocked down two three-pointers and nabbed a steal that led to an assist on Dominick Barlow's two-handed dunk.

The 76ers got back to their identity in the third quarter and trailed by only two points with a little more than two minutes left.

They ran plays through Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey got going on offense and Kelly Oubre Jr., exploded to make up for George's silent second half.

Did that pay off? Kind of? The Sixers still traded baskets with the Knicks, as that is also part of their identity. So is struggling to rebound.

Apparently, the NBA found a trio of refs from the 1980s to officiate this one.

Perhaps encouraged by Joel Embiid's accusation of dirty play in Game 1, the Knicks spent the first half bolstering his argument, and the officials were content to let go much of the excessive contact.

Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns tangled twice under the basket in the first half, resulting in a no-call that led Embiid to intentionally foul Towns solely in order to protest the no-call. Later they locked arms again, initially called a foul on Embiid, then, upon review and reversal, a foul on Towns, his third.

Even without OG Anunoby, the Knicks' depth is really showing in this first half. Late in the second quarter, all nine New York players who had entered the game had scored, while the Sixers had zero bench points.

That lack of bench production has been an issue throughout the playoffs, save for Quentin Grimes' 18-point outburst and tenacious defense in Game 5 at Boston. Dominck Barlow, an intriguing frontcourt option coming out of Game 2, only played four minutes due to picking up two quick fouls, while fellow backup big men Andre Drummond and Adem Bona are also under five minutes apiece.

Though Nick Nurse believes in playing his best players heavy minutes, Tyrese Maxey played nearly 47 in the Sixers' Game 2 loss and has already surpassed 20 before halftime.

The Knicks were expected to miss OG Anunoby, who was ruled out with a hamstring strain after playing as well as anyone in the postseason.

Enter Landry Shamet.

The Knicks reserve knocked down an early fadeaway that helped stop the bleeding for the Knicks in the first quarter and never looked back.

The 76ers led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but finished the period with a narrow 31-27 lead.

Paul George got out to a scorching start, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. VJ Edgecombe scored six, including four points on back-to-back alley oop dunks from Tyrese Maxey passes. Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr., both had four.

But the Sixers' inability to finish at the rim on one end and defend it on the other allowed the Knicks to come back late. Edgecombe, Oubre and Grimes all missed layups late in the period. Meanwhile, Miles McBride and Jalen Brunson got easy buckets.

Paul George has been the best three-pointer shooter in the postseason -- bar none.

Prior to Game 3, he led the NBA with 31 makes. He was knocking down 52.2% of his threes. He was making 66.% of his pull-up threes.

George picked up where he left off in Game 3, knocking in three of his first four attempts from deep. He added two other field goals to boot, for a total stat line of 13 points on 5-for-7 with almost four minutes left in the first.

It wasn’t hard to spot a Knicks fan walking through the main concourse of the Xfinity Mobile Arena ahead of Game 3. Despite the team's efforts to shut out any New York fans, they still made the trip to “MSG South,” including West Chester, New York natives Constantine Poulakis, 21, and Niko Milo, 22.

“So, we were looking at ticket prices and we’re seeing everything that Embiid was saying about, you know, not letting fans in and we were like ‘Nah, not today,’” Poulakis said. “We made the trip down, four-hour drive. But I’d say it was pretty worth it. A lot of Knicks fans here. So, I’m kind of hyped. … A lot more Jalen Brunson jerseys than [Joel] Embiid jerseys out right now.”

A few Knicks fans made their presence felt in a bad way. During a moment of silence to honor Steve Nurse, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's brother, one fan yelled out, "Let's go Knicks," leading to boos from the crowd.

The 76ers started Game 3 with a 9-0 run that lasted almost two minutes.

The tip led directly to a Kelly Oubre Jr., layup. Embiid picked the Knicks defense apart on one play later, finding Paul George for a three-pointer. George knocked down another shot before rookie VJ Edgecombe got to the free-throw line.

The Knicks finally scored on a Josh Hart layup at 10:03.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse has been a bit of an absolutist when it comes to the minutes of reserve center Dominick Barlow.

He's either played big minutes when the team finds itself in a crunch of been relegated to the bench as Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona take all the minutes.

This series feels like a time to change that and make a bit more of a return to Barlow's role in the regular season, when he averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.9 minutes.

The Knicks are opting to start Miles McBride in place of the injured OG Anunoby. It's not necessarily a surprise, given McBride closed Wednesday's Game 2 for the Knicks when Anunoby went out with a hamstring strain.

But the Knicks also could have decided to go big, with center Mitchell Robinson back after missing Game 2 with an illness. With Robinson still coming off the bench, that creates an interesting center matchup scenario for Nick Nurse.

Robinson is a rebounding machine and more traditional center, which might cause Nurse to favor Andre Drummond as Joel Embiid's backup despite Drummond's early struggles in this series. Adem Bona is a more athletic option off the bench, but he has continued to be foul-prone.

Joel Embiid will return for Friday’s Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, after missing Wednesday’s Game 2 loss with a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness.

The star center was listed as questionable throughout the day, but participated in the Sixers’ shootaround Wednesday morning. Nick Nurse said during his pregame news conference that he expected Embiid to play. 

“He’s getting better all the time,” Nurse said during his pregame news conference. “ … I think he’s going to give it a shot here. He’s going to get one last check here to see where he’s at.”

OG Anunoby’s absence might be an even bigger deal than Joel Embiid’s return.

The Knicks’ forward has been ruled out of Game 3 with a hamstring injury that he suffered in the closing minutes of New York’s hard-fought victory on Wednesday in Game 2. It is a huge blow for a team that lacks any semblance of bench depth on the wing.

In a lot of ways, Anunoby is the thing that makes Knicks work. An elite defender who is thick enough to guard bigs and quick enough to match up against guards, Anunoby has spent much of the series matching up against Paul George at the start of possessions. That has enabled the Knicks to use Mikal Bridges against Tyrese Maxey, where his length has clearly paid dividends at the point of attack.

The 76ers have sacrificed talent on the margins in recent years, letting players like Jared McCain, Isiah Joe, and Julian Champagnie move on to new franchises.

That has resulted in more minutes for their starters. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe rated among the league leaders all season, with Maxey leading the league at 38 minutes per game.

That hasn't changed in the postseason, with Maxey, Edgecombe, Paul George and Kelly Oubre all in the top in total minutes.

Though the uncertain status of Joel Embiid is Friday’s most significant pregame storyline, the Knicks also could be without a key player. Standout wing OG Anunoby left Game 2 with a hamstring strain and is listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 3.

Anunoby has arguably been the most consistent Knick during this playoff run so far. He averaged 21 points on 64% shooting (44.4% on 4.5 three-point attempts) in this series’ first two games and is an excellent perimeter defender. Without Anunoby down the stretch of Wednesday’s win, the Knicks turned to reserve guard Miles McBride for the closing lineup.

“He’s a great player,” Sixers forward Dominick Barlow said of Anunoby. “But at the end of the day, they have a lot of great players on their team. You could look at it and [say], ‘Oh, it helped us.’ [But] you never know. It could hurt you. So sometimes you’ve got to be careful what you ask for.

Had the Sixers not traded Jared McCain to Oklahoma City at the deadline, they very well might still be training the New York Knicks two games to none in their second round series. But that doesn't make it any less difficult for Philly fans to watch the team's former first-round pick thrive for the defending champion Thunder.

And Thursday night's OKC victory won't make that pill go down any easier. McCain scored a career playoff high 18 points in the Thunder's 125-107 win over the Lakers to help his team take a 2-0 series lead.

After the game, McCain — who hit 7 of his 11 shots, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, in just 18 minutes — got a shoutout from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Last Sunday, a day after the Sixers eliminated the Celtics and clinched a second-round date with the New York Knicks, a 31-year-old Sixers fan named Matt was driving from his parents’ house in South Jersey to his home in Fishtown when an idea popped into his mind.

As a ride-or-die devotee of the Sixers’ controversial "Trust the Process" era, who bought his season ticket package during the 10-win season of 2015-16, Matt couldn’t stomach the thought of Philadelphia turning into a sea of orange and blue. Especially not after center Joel Embiid made a postgame plea for fans to not sell their tickets.

Matt was well-aware of how convenient it would be for New Yorkers to make the trip down via Amtrak.

In Game 1, Tyrese Maxey did not get enough shots up — especially early.

In Game 2, he committed “way, way, way” too many turnovers — six of the Sixers’ 18, an uncharacteristic mark for a team that ranked fifth in the NBA in fewest turnovers during the regular season.

Perhaps most concerning is that Maxey revealed he jammed his injured pinkie finger again, and that he did not feel comfortable dribbling around and splitting the Knicks’ aggressive double-teams.

As part of the 76ers’ efforts to keep Knicks fans out of Xfinity Mobile Arena for Games 3 and 4 of their second-round playoffs series, the organization is donating 500 tickets to community groups “fired up about Philadelphia and committed to making our hometown a better place.”

For Friday’s Game 3 matchup, 250 tickets will go to frontline medical personnel from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine. Another 250 will go to local educators selected by Learn Fresh, Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, The School District of Philadelphia, and Camden City School District.  

For Sunday’s Game 4, on Mother’s Day, all 500 tickets will go to moms and children selected by Uplift Center for Grieving Children, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, La Liga del Barrio, and Apologues. 

Joel Embiid is listed as questionable to play in Game 3 of the 76ers’ second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, after the star center missed his team’s 108-102 Game 2 loss with a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness.

Embiid was listed as probable to play the afternoon of Wednesday’s Game 2 before being ruled out following the team’s shootaround. Coach Nick Nurse said that Embiid woke up Wednesday with “a bunch of soreness” but was “really disappointed” he could not take the court that night.

“He’s worked extremely hard to get back [from an April 9 appendectomy],” Nurse said. “And he continues to want to play badly. I feel bad for him, because he really wants to be out there.”

The channel jumping for the Sixers continues, only this time you won't find tonight's game on the dial.

Game 3 between the Sixers and Knicks will stream exclusively on Prime Video, all part of the NBA's 11-year, $77 billion broadcast rights deal with Amazon, NBC, and ESPN.

At this point, Prime has more subscribers than cable TV, so the issue isn't reach – it's convenience. The Phillies begin a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies Friday night, but the Sixers on Prime means fans won't be able to easily flip back and forth between games.