Sixers ready to ‘grit it out’ and even their playoff series with the New York Knicks in Game 4

The 76ers’ confidence is high.

They know they could have won Game 1 and realize they should have won Game 2 of the best-of-seven first-round series against the New York Knicks. So after Thursday’s Game 3 victory, the Sixers believe they’re the better team heading into Sunday’s matchup in Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m., ABC, ESPN).

But this game and ultimately the playoff series won’t be decided by who makes the most adjustments. It’ll come down to how hard the Sixers fight, their ability to stay together, and how badly they want to beat the Knicks.

The way they came out in Game 3 was a great sign for the rest of the series.

The Sixers posted up Joel Embiid on the first play, leading to the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder scoring a layup 16 seconds into the contest.

» READ MORE: Buddy Hield was a prized trade deadline acquisition. Here’s why the Sixers benched him.

That sent New York a message that the Sixers were going to establish Embiid in the low post. Then in the third quarter, the reigning MVP was unstoppable from three-point land en route to scoring 50 points, a career-playoff high.

While it’s hard to depend on him to go 4-for-4 on threes in another quarter, the aggressiveness and physicality that Embiid and the Sixers established early set the tempo and was key to the victory. Embiid’s style of play upset the Knicks, who felt he should have been ejected for grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s leg in a first-quarter layup attempt.

The Sixers know the Knicks were the aggressor in Games 1 and 2, and are determined to impose their will early on Sunday.

“They’ve been physical every game,” the Sixers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “We were just physical as well last game, too. So you know now we are too physical. But at the end of the day, both teams are trying to grit it out, play physical, play strong, [and] play tough.

“They got the better of us in New York, right? So it’s only right that we come home and do the same thing that they did to us and just compete.”

That said, Oubre thinks all the back-and-forth about the physicality and the no-calls are nonsense.

“But at the end of the day, we’re two teams that play physical, play hard,” he said. “We grit it out. So I expect nothing else at 1 p.m. tomorrow.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid finally discovers he has the DNA of a champion. Down 2-1, can he lead the Sixers past the Knicks?

Both teams, however, have tried to make officials aware of the other squad’s indiscretions.

The Sixers filed a grievance with the NBA over the officiating across the first two games after several no-calls and coach Nick Nurse not being awarded a timeout he sought late in their Game 2 loss. Meanwhile, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t happy that Embiid went to the foul line 21 times while his team attempted a combined 19 free throws in Game 3. Donte DiVincenzo even called Embiid’s foul on Robinson “dirty,” while Josh Hart said his teammate was fortunate to avoid serious injury on the play, when Embiid was on the floor in the paint and wrapped up one of Robinson’s legs as he went up for a shot.

“I’ve seen that happen before, though,” Oubre said of the dirty play claims. “And I was on the other end of it [this series]. So at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s dirty. Joel has to protect himself ...

“But at the end of the day, I’m not going to comment on what they’re commenting on, because at the end of the day, they’re going to hit. And we hit back. ... and then you know vice versa or whatever the case may be. Let’s just hoop. Let’s go out there and play hard. Nobody is [looking] to fight. This ain’t WWE. At the end of the day, stand on the stuff y’all say. So we’ll see tomorrow how they react.”

There’s a chance we won’t see Robinson battling Embiid. The Knicks’ reserve center sprained his left ankle while tangling legs with Embiid later in the first half, leading to his being scratched from the second half of Game 3. He left the arena in a walking boot and did not participate in Saturday’s practice. His status for Game 4 is uncertain.

But physicality is one of the Knicks’ main strengths. They play hard and never give up. That’s obvious in their ability to track down offensive rebounds and loose balls.

While they have an All-Star in point guard Jalen Brunson, the Knicks aren’t an overly talented team. But they play well together and have the Villanova connection in Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo. They possess the systematic, detail-oriented and methodical mentality of Thibodeau. That’s why the Knicks finished the regular season with the Eastern Conference’s second-best record. It’s also why they take a 2-1 series advantage into Sunday’s game.

Sunday’s game is close to a must-win situation for the Sixers. A victory would put a lot of pressure on the Knicks to win Game 5. It would also give the Sixers a lot of momentum.

» READ MORE: Nick Nurse impressed with Joel Embiid’s resilience as he battles Bell’s palsy and knee problems

They would have won two straight games and both sides know the Sixers should have also won Game 2. But with a loss in Game 4, they would be on the brink of elimination. They must win Games 5 and 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Game 4 “is going to be a battle, for sure,” the Sixers’ Nico Batum said. “I mean, it’s going to be a fight. Those first three games could go either way every time. We could be up 3-0. We could be down 0-3 or 2-1 whatever. So we line up, we are down 2-1. [Sunday] is going to be a fight. We know that. So it’s going to be a good game.”

In addition to physicality, this game will come down to role players stepping up.

Cam Payne was the Sixers’ unlikely hero in Game 3, finishing with 11 points, three assists, and two blocks in 15 minutes, 40 seconds off the bench. That type of production is needed to win a postseason series.

That is because star players often cancel each other out in the playoffs.

For example, Embiid is going to cancel out Brunson. Someone else like Hart is going to cancel out Tyrese Maxey.

So if Payne — or another unheralded teammate — can come in and contribute the way he did Thursday night the Sixers should be fine.

“We need everybody, right?” Nurse said. “We’re kind of in a seven, eight, nine [player] rotation. ... When I say that, it doesn’t mean scoring it. It just means playing well. Like I really think you can say that Kelly, Tobias [Harris] and Nico played really well … and it really hasn’t resulted in a ton of points for any of them…

“What we need is all those guys to play well and be patient. And if the night happens to be your night, you’re the one that gets swung around to open, you have to be ready to bolt up and stick it or make that critical cut versus the double-team to the rim and get that layup on them.”

But most importantly, they better be ready for the Knicks’ physicality.