How Sixers’ Lost Series to Knicks Before Playoffs Even Began

The scene at Xfinity Mobile Arena during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Friday night could bring any Sixers fan to tears.

The New York Knicks held a 15-point lead with just under a minute-and-a-half left in the game. Josh Hart encouraged the masses of Knicks fans to cheer louder as a sea of blue and orange took South Philadelphia under siege.

The broadcast camera then turned to the Sixers’ bench.

Quentin Grimes, who turned 26 years old yesterday, had a thousand-yard stare. Kelly Oubre Jr., who told everyone to keep the same energy after Philadelphia trailed 2-0 in the series, was speechless. Joel Embiid, who pleaded for Sixers fans to outnumber New York, could only stare in awe. VJ Edgecombe, who craves the biggest stages, rubbed his face.

Knicks fans TOOK OVER Philly and the Sixers bench is DEVESTATED

Kelly Oubre Jr: "I don't know, man." pic.twitter.com/BfRgumiCYw
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) May 9, 2026

Philadelphia fell to the Knicks, 108-94, declining to 0-3 in the series, which is essentially a death sentence. Depth has been key in this series—something that has plagued the Sixers and lifted the Knicks. Game 3 was only the tip of the iceberg. Philadelphia’s insufficient bench scoring has lost games and overburdened its stars, leading the way to the Sixers’ fifth second-round exit in eight years.

Grimes hit a 3-pointer one minute into the fourth quarter—Philadelphia’s first bench points of the contest. The guard has practically been the Sixers’ only viable bench scorer in the playoffs and he is recording six points per game on 28.6% shooting from the field in the series. His struggles may have been negligible if the Sixers had boosted their roster at the February 5 trade deadline. That's irrelevant now.

Philadelphia instead snuck under the luxury tax threshold by sending Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder, for whom he scored 18 points in 18 minutes on Thursday. The Sixers’ other move? Salary-dumping Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies. Philadelphia then signed Cameron Payne, who averaged 7.4 points in 22 games, and waived him due to injury. The Sixers later converted Dalen Terry to a standard NBA deal. He has played a total of 27 minutes in the playoffs.

The Sixers’ bench is letting them down.

The wear and tear of Philadelphia coming back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in the previous round is on full display.

Embiid, who has endured a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness, is far from the two-way force he was just one week ago. He scrounged up 18 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the field, barely having any vertical lift and struggling to move on both ends of the court. But the Sixers did not have adequate center depth to let him breathe, with Andre Drummond and Adem Bona struggling in their own rights.

The Atlanta Hawks acquired Jock Landale (9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds for Atlanta) for cash in February, by the way.

It gets worse when looking at Mitchell Robinson’s impact.

His rim protection and offensive rebounding overwhelmed Philadelphia, tallying six points and rebounds as well as two stocks. Robinson’s presence down low blew up the Sixers’ possessions. He helped the Knicks tally 20 second-chance points. That swings games, and Philadelphia saw first-hand how useful it is to have depth.

MITCHELL ROBINSON WITH THE MONSTER SLAM 💪

Take a look at every angle of Mitchell Robinson's thundering Game 3 alley-oop!

Game 4: Sunday 3:30 PM ET, on ABCpic.twitter.com/gdfqsUMM1I
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2026

Maxey, while shooting 8-for-12 from the field, continued to look solved in this series. New York’s pesky defense and his lingering right pinky injury are seemingly bothering him. He clocked 44 minutes after playing 47 in Game 2 and looked both exhausted and passive. It’s on Maxey to remain aggressive, but Philadelphia not having a guard that can give him a breather for a few minutes has proven fatal.

Again, that is exactly what McCain is doing for Oklahoma City.

George scored all 15 of his points in the first quarter and missed his last nine shot attempts. Should he be more consistent? Absolutely. But it’s unreasonable to expect him to anchor the offense for long stretches when Embiid and Maxey are stumbling. It all boils down to Philadelphia’s fatigue and crumbling health, issues that adding depth could have helped alleviate.

New York did not make the same mistake.

The Knicks’ bench is not loaded, either. New York simply has veterans it can plug and play for minutes at a time to keep its starters fresh. Landry Shamet erupted for 15 points. He notched just three points in the first two games of the series. Jordan Clarkson (four points, five rebounds, and three assists) was useful, as well.

New York outscored the Sixers, 29-11, in bench points, even with Miles McBride starting in OG Anunoby’s (right hamstring strain) place. Philadelphia is on the brink of a sweep, not because the Knicks are so much better, but due to them being a properly built team. That is not to belittle New York’s success, however, as it has outplayed the Sixers on both ends of the court.

Philadelphia now has to fight for its pride and hope for the best.

“It's still a great challenge,” Maxey told reporters after Game 3. “You gotta go do it. Either you don't play with any pride and you get swept on your home floor in the second round of the playoffs or you play with some pride and you win one game at a time.”

Tyrese Maxey on being down 3-0:

"It's still a great challenge. You gotta go do it. Either you don't play with any pride and you get swept on your home floor in the 2nd round of the playoffs or you play with some pride you win one game at a time" pic.twitter.com/GGyVk5vO8E
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 9, 2026

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