PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are now facing elimination as they fell to the New York Knicks 108-94. The Sixers trail this series 3-0–a position no team in NBA history has ever rallied to win from–and now have to win four in a row just to keep their season alive and advance.
The Sixers were out-rebounded by the Knicks 49-33 and New York shot 32 free throws compared to just 16 for Philadelphia. Paul George and Tyrese Maxey didn’t take a single free throw on the night while Joel Embiid gave 35 tough minutes while battling hip and ankle issues.
The Sixers did just rally from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the playoffs, but this is different 3-0 is much more vaunting than 3-1. There’s a reason why no team has ever rallied to win a series in such an instance.
“Just take it one game at a time,” said Embiid. “Obviously, we just came back down 3-1. This is tougher. So, yeah, just understanding that, yeah, we can’t get it all back in one game. So win one, focus on the next one, win the next one. That should be the mentality. That’s the mentality we had early on last week. So, yeah, just gotta have that belief, and believe that you can do it.”
The Sixers did start the game well on Friday as they jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter. George was playing well, Embiid was a presence in the paint, and Kelly Oubre Jr. was making plays off the stars. Unfortunately for them, the Sixers were unable to sustain it. Now, they have to get back at it on Sunday afternoon.
“I mean, you get in a situation like this, I mean, all you can do is try to get the next one and then see what happens, right?” said coach Nick Nurse. “I mean, I know that’s pretty obvious, but it turns to if you can get one, it turns to 3-1 pretty quick, right? And you don’t have to think about it being 3-0 anymore. We have to really dig in and regroup and make some adjustments and do things better.”
The Sixers have been a prideful group all season as they have had to battle through a ton of adversity and having to deal with different lineups and rotations in an effort to be the best version of themselves. They showed a lot of pride against the Celtics. Now, they have to show it against the Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday.
“You add a game to it,” said Maxey. “We only had to win three in a row. Now, we have to win four in a row. It’s still a great challenge. You got to go do it. Either you don’t play with any pride and you get swept on your home floor in the second round of the playoffs or you play with some pride and you win one game at a time.”
For the Sixers, the message is simple. Just win one game and then go from there.
“(Expletive), win a game,” said George. “Keep it alive.”
Please be advised that the clip below contains language that some might consideroffensive!
Paul George on any message to the group heading into Game 4: “Shit. Win a game. Keep it alive.” #Sixerspic.twitter.com/R085j75fEf
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) May 9, 2026
Game 4 is set for Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. EDT from the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple 76ers react to now being down 0-3 to Knicks after latest loss
