Insult was added to the injury of the Philadelphia 76ers getting swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals when Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena was taken over by Knicks fans for Game 3 and Game 4 of the series.
Following the Knicks’ 144-114 thrashing of the 76ers on Sunday, New York’s Josh Hart took a shot at Philadelphia when he said that he “used to think Philly was a sports town” but doesn’t “know if it is anymore.” Also on Sunday, 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey reacted to Knicks fans turning Philadelphia’s home venue into Madison Square Garden South for a couple of games.
Tyrese Maxey: Knicks fans taking Philadelphia over “absolutely sucks”
“It absolutely sucks, if I’m being honest,” Maxey said about Knicks fans invading Philadelphia, per Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media. “It just sucks. That’s really all I can say about it, man. It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult. It’s only one way to put a stop to it, and it’s, we have to go out there and win these games.”
The 76ers tried to restrict ticket sales geographically for Game 3 and Game 4 of the series versus the Knicks. Philadelphia later donated tickets to local area community groups in an attempt to keep as many Knicks supporters out of Xfinity Mobile Arena as possible.
Such moves did little to stop excited Knicks fans from scooping up tickets for Friday’s contest and for what became the series finale on Sunday.