The Philadelphia 76ers have gone down 3-0 to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals following a 108-94 loss at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday. The 76ers now find themselves on the brink of elimination, and superstar center Joel Embiid appeared to be accusing the NBA of wanting the Knicks to win when asked about the officiating postgame.
“They shot 32 free throws, we had 16,” Embiid said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And we’re not a team that shoots a lot of threes. We attack, put the ball on the ground. So yeah, I don’t know… I guess it good when New York wins, so we just got to have that mentality of just not fouling, I guess, and being smart enough to not put ourselves in a position where they’re going to take advantage of it.”
Now, it should be pointed out that some of those 32 attempts were the result of the 76ers intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson in the second half. The Knicks still shot more free throws if you remove all of Robinson’s eight attempts, but the gap wouldn’t be as big.
Also, the 76ers had shot 62 free throws in the opening two games of this series, while the Knicks were at 42. They still have a 78-74 edge in free-throw attempts even after this game, so this narrative about referees is bogus.
The NBA might slap Embiid with a fine for these comments. We just saw Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown get a $50,000 fine for calling out the officials after they blew a 3-1 lead against the 76ers in the first round.
Finally beating the Celtics in a playoff series for the first time since 1982 brought much joy to Philadelphians, but this series against the Knicks would have taken some of that away. No team in NBA history has ever overturned a 3-0 deficit, and these 76ers won’t either.
It would take some otherworldly performances from Embiid to extend this series to six or seven games, and it doesn’t look like he’s capable of delivering those right now. The 32-year-0ld missed Game 2 with right hip soreness and a right ankle sprain, and looked far from his best here.
Embiid had 18 points (7-17 FG), six rebounds, five assists, and three blocks in Game 3. This is not the same player who was dominating in Games 5 and 7 in Boston to power a comeback. It’s a shame that his body keeps breaking down.
What would have also added to Embiid’s frustrations here was that there were one too many Knicks fans in attendance. He had told 76ers fans not to sell their tickets to Knicks fans and even offered to buy them himself. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way Embiid wanted. You could actually hear him getting booed when he was at the free-throw line, and the reaction to this Landry Shamet dunk really says it all.
Listen to this crowd pop man.. pic.twitter.com/P6uYE71dbH
— 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 (@AbdulCarterMVP) May 8, 2026
Embiid was asked about the fans postgame as well, and claimed he wasn’t focusing on the crowd.
“I don’t know,” Embiid said. “I was focused on the game. I really wasn’t paying attention.”
Will things be any different in Game 4? You’d hope so if you’re the 76ers.
Game 4 will tip off at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The 76ers have only been swept once in the Embiid era and would be desperate to keep it that way.
