Completed Fan outburst at the Sixers-Knicks game: flagrants, ref error, and the Empire State Building!?
We don’t even have time to discuss Josh Hart’s Ray Allen impression, Kelly Oubre Jr.’s vehicle accident, or Tyrese Maxey’s sick. Things are getting so strange. The NBA is much to blame for the insane behavior of fans.
The Sixers defeated the New York Knicks 125-114 on Thursday to earn their first victory of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at The Center. Joel Embiid was just amazing, presuming he should have been allowed to finish the game despite suffering discomfort in his knee from his surgically repaired meniscus and a possible mild case of Bell’s palsy on top of that.
However, the way this series has gone, the tension almost makes it feel like a flashback to some of the tough playoff series the Knicks were used to in the past, when players like Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason were doing everything in their power to intimidate any opponents, even those who were vastly more talented than them.
(I’m speaking
about the passion, not the gameplay, and Oak would definitely label all gamers and fans who complained about such insignificant interaction as wimps.
Since 1983, neither fanbase has experienced an NBA championship. Since 2001, neither team has seen a Conference Finals or Finals run. Twitter and social media have added gasoline to what would have undoubtedly been an already blazing fire, unlike the last time the Knicks had a really good team in 1999. The Process in Philadelphia and the James Dolan quarter-century in New York make it all make sense there would be some rabid interest from all sides.
Enter the name of the MVP in question into Twitter and browse. Rather than watching highlights from one of the most memorable playoff games in player history You will probably be inundated with compilations of #EMFLOP, dirty plays, drooping eye gags, and general mayhem involving “f—k Embiid” during the game against the Knicks.
