Joel Embiid’s 50-Point Night Got The Sixers A Game 3 Win Over The Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers left New York feeling like they’d been robbed after Game 2, voicing their frustration with the officiating after a wild sequence saw the Knicks erase a 5-point deficit in the final 27 seconds of action.

There was a question of how they would respond in Game 3 back home in Philly, and after two quarters of play, it looked like we were in for another dog fight as New York led 58-55 at the break. Whatever the message was from Nick Nurse in the locker room was the right one, because the Sixers came out and blitzed the Knicks in the third quarter, winning the period 43-27 to take control of the game on their way to a 125-114 win.

Leading the way was Joel Embiid who had 18 of his 50 points in the third, as the reigning MVP (for a few more days) put up a new playoff career-high. Embiid was highly efficient to get his 50, going 13-of-19 from the field, 5-of-7 from three (including three straight at one point in the third), and 19-of-21 from the free throw line.

Helping the cause was Tyrese Maxey, who added 25 points and seven assists on the night, including a couple threes early in the third quarter to kick-start the Sixers big run.

The Knicks would make a fourth quarter push to get the game down to single digits late, but unlike in Game 2 there were no late game heroics to be found for New York. Jalen Brunson did his best to give New York a chance, finally breaking out of his slump with 39 points and 13 assists on the night.

Offense wasn’t the issue for New York, as they got solid contributions again from Josh Hart (20 points), OG Anunoby (17 points), and Isaiah Hartenstein (14 points). The issues were on the other end of the floor where they got carved up by Philly, which shot 54.7 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from three. The whistle was also a bit different, as the Sixers (led by Embiid) paraded to the free throw line with 33 attempts, knocking down 28.

The game wasn’t without a little controversy, as Embiid picked up a first quarter Flagrant for a dangerous play after getting knocked to the ground and grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s leg as he went up for a shot. He was able to keep his emotions in check from there, though, and channeled his energy into the best playoff performance of his career. The Sixers will hope to build on this showing to even the series in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. ET, ABC), while the Knicks will have to figure out how to get their defense back in form to try and pick up a road win.