The Philadelphia 76ers will donate 500 tickets for each remaining second-round playoff game at home to area community groups in the team's latest attempt to keep more of their own fans in the building and avoid a New York takeover. The Sixers' previous strategy to ward off Knicks fans in this playoff series was to try through Ticketmaster to geographically restrict sales to fans in the greater Philadelphia area, per the AP.
The Sixers said 250 front-line medical personnel from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine and 250 local educators selected by Learn Fresh, Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, Philly's school district, and the school district of Camden, New Jersey, would attend Game 3 on Friday night. For Sunday's Game 4, the 76ers will host 500 moms and children selected by Uplift Center for Grieving Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, La Liga del Barrio, and the Apologues. The Knicks so far lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
When the teams met two years ago in the first round, Knicks fans swarmed Philadelphia, and Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid pleaded with fans ahead of this series not to let it happen again. "Last time we played the Knicks it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East. So we're going to need the support," Embiid said. "Don't sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere we've had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one pushing it to Game 7—I mean, we need all of it."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
