Steve Popper: Knicks fans become the new Broad Street bullies
Landry Shamet #44 of the New York Knicks reacts after missing a basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff on May 10, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit: Getty Images/Emilee Chinn
PHILADELPHIA — I swear, I have double-checked it and my editors have gone through it, but the dateline on this column is correct.
The Knicks finished off a sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers with a 144-114 win on Sunday, and it was at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Sixers' home court.
Now you may doubt that from the celebrations and the screaming, the profane chants directed at Joel Embiid and the celebratory “MVP” and “Deuce” sing-a-long shouting to honor Jalen Brunson and Deuce McBride. But this was just another takeover by the Knicks on the court and off, whether it was bringing the denizens of celebrity row at Madison Square Garden along with them or the countless masses who overcame the best efforts of 76ers management to try to keep them out and dominated the crowd.
“It was fun to be a part of that,” Josh Hart said. “I mean, that's -— at MSG, that’s what the fans do. I knew that was gonna be like that early. During warmups, they showed Joel Embiid and everyone started booing, and I was just like, ah, this is . . . I thought we were back in the Garden for a second.”
Maybe this is a home away from home for these Knicks. Consider that three members of the starting lineup — Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges — can look up into the rafters at the arena and see the last two banners that were hung up there, which honor the NCAA champion Villanova squads they led to victory.
“I don’t think surprised is the word,” Brunson said. “I know that we travel well, and obviously being close to New York helps. It’s a really cool feeling. It’s something I said, I will always think is one of the coolest things in the world, when you hear Knicks fans in opposing arenas. It’s a really cool feeling, I can’t lie.”
And this isn’t the first time, obviously, because the Knicks did a similar takeover two seasons ago in the postseason, when there were wild celebrations inside and outside the arena as the Knicks won that series.
To be honest, though, 76ers fans could not be blamed for throwing their tickets up on the secondary markets. This was hardly an upset, with the Knicks setting a tone from the start of Game 1 en route to a 39-point win. By the time this series shifted locales, it was clear that the 76ers were no match for the machine that the Knicks are right now.
“I obviously didn’t know how well they traveled and stuff like that, because I was out of coaching, so I watched [them] once in a while,” Mike Brown said. “I watched ESPN and all of that stuff during basketball time. And they showed videos of fans after first-round wins climbing light poles. So I’m like, wow.
“You love it. You love seeing stuff like that . . . But I got a lot of respect for them. And the more you’re around, the more you appreciate and understand why they are like that. But more than anything else, they're knowledgeable. It’s a knowledgeable group, a knowledgeable fan base, and you respect that just as much as their passion shows.”
He may not have been able to appreciate that knowledge from where he was, but he certainly could see the passion and the volume. But the Knicks gave them plenty to cheer for, and with the Knicks leading by 39 points after three quarters, any semblance of a 76ers crowd was exiting by the time the period was over, hoping to beat the traffic home, leaving the arena a sea of blue and orange.
The 76ers' organization put restrictions on ticket sales, canceling any orders that came outside the Philadelphia area, and before the series began, Embiid implored fans not to sell their tickets. Knicks fans took that as a challenge. With bus trips organized and the secondary market scoured, it was clear that they won that as convincingly as the team did on the court.
“Everybody was begging for that -— for Philly to not sell their tickets and all that stuff,” Hart said. “So, man, yeah, it's —- I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don't know if it is anymore. I don't think it worked against them. I just think our fans are that good -— especially on the East Coast. Like I said, Knicks fans travel no matter where it is on the East Coast. Boston, obviously, is extremely hard to take over, but I know when we're on the East Coast, man.”
“It absolutely sucks, if I'm being honest,” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “It just sucks. That's really all I can say about it, man. It's hard. It's definitely difficult. It's only one way to put a stop to it, and it's we have to go out there and win these games . . . I don't know how to keep them out. I don't know the logistics of it, but it does suck. I can't even lie. It definitely does suck."
The Knicks took some criticism last season — even if it wasn’t their doing — when New York City put up street signs honoring all of the Knicks players, the sort of thing usually reserved for a title parade.
“I don't care too much about this,” Hart added. “We always talk about we want our fans and all that to have as much fun as they can. So all that stuff is for them. For us, we're still locked in and focused on the task at hand. Let everyone else have their fun. That's what they're supposed to do during this process. But we're locked in and focused. All that is outside noise.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
