Amid boos and jeers, 76ers’ Joel Embiid struggles in Game 1 loss to the Knicks
As expected, Knicks fans booed, heckled and jeered Joel Embiid throughout his first playoff game at Madison Square Garden since he emerged as a full-blown sports villain there during a hyper-tense 2024 series. And in Monday night’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Embiid didn’t do much to silence his critics. Embiid struggled in his Philadelphia 76ers’ 137-98 loss to the Knicks, managing only 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting, four rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes.
The Knicks’ center duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson held up against Embiid, despite them both getting into early foul trouble. Embiid finished 8-of-9 from the free-throw line but never found much rhythm from the field, shooting just 1-of-6 during a first quarter in which he missed a lay-up. He went 0-for-2 from 3-point range.
He finished as a -24 and was outplayed by the Knicks’ stars, including Jalen Brunson, who scored 35 points in 31 minutes, and Towns, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. Embiid rankled Knicks fans two postseasons ago during a first-round series in which the 7-foot center engaged in multiple controversial plays — none bigger than a flagrant foul in which he pulled Robinson to the ground. Despite being less than three months removed from left knee surgery and dealing with Bell’s palsy, Embiid averaged 33.
0 points, 10. 8 rebounds and 5. 7 assists per game during that 2024 series, which the Knicks won in six games.
Knicks fans clearly hadn’t forgotten what went down two years ago. They booed Embiid the loudest during Monday’s pregame introductions. They chanted, ahem, “Bleep Embiid” throughout the night.