Instant observations: Sixers fall to 0-3 vs. Knicks in brutal home showing
May 8, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) dunks the ball over Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The Sixers got Joel Embiid back in the lineup and watched as their team fell short anyway, losing 108-94 to New York to fall to 0-3 in their second-round series. Philadelphia’s season is on the line on Sunday, when they’ll have to score a Mother’s Day win to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Knicks.
Here’s what I saw. It starts on the boards… Philadelphia’s round one matchup against Boston allowed the Sixers to put Joel Embiid on the floor with very little downside. For one, he looked better physically than he does right now, and the Celtics were a lot worse at trying to pick on him in drop coverage.
Unfortunately, the Knicks have had a much different approach and have done a far better job of punishing his lack of mobility on the glass, and many of Philly’s problems in Game 3 flowed out of there. Anyone who watched the 2024 Sixers-Knicks series has seen this play out before, and even with some different faces on both sides of the matchup, the story remains the same. New York already had four offensive rebounds after the first quarter, helping to keep the game close, and things only got worse in the second quarter, as the Knicks fans in attendance unleashed a barrage of cheers watching their guys work the Sixers on the glass.
A great Philadelphia start was washed away Early on, a good chunk of the rebounding problem came down to a lack of mobility for Embiid, which the Knicks were ready to test early and often. Credit to Mike Brown and the Knicks for their ruthlessness — Philadelphia’s initial defensive plan was to use Embiid as a roamer off of Josh Hart in the corner, and it didn’t take long for the Knicks to either bring Hart up on screens for Brunson or use him in other actions to move Embiid around. When he wasn’t directly involved in the possession on defense, Embiid also didn’t navigate traffic all that well.
He wasn’t hitting bodies on their way to the basket, allowing plenty of free runs at the hoop to bail the Knicks out of some poor early offense. Although the Knicks’ assault on the boards got going thanks to the big man, it certainly wasn’t all his fault. New York felt emboldened by their start and began attacking the Sixers in waves in the second quarter, wiping out good defensive possessions for Philly by going over, around, or even through Sixers players to rip second chances away and extend possessions.
Continue to the original source for the full article.