76ers trying to ban Knicks fans from Philadelphia playoff games

The rabid Knicks fan base turned the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena into Madison Square Garden South for the first round of the playoffs. Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers don’t want the same to happen to the Xfinity Mobile Arena for their second-round playoff series against the Knicks this week.

So as a precautionary measure, the Sixers organization decided to limit who can purchase tickets to Games 3, 4 and 6 of the series, announcing in a memo sales have been “restricted to residents of Greater Philadelphia area” on Saturday.

“Residency will be based on credit card billing address,” the memo reads. “Orders by residents outside Greater Philadelphia area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”

The goal for the Sixers is simple: prevent Knicks fans from infiltrating their arena and neutralizing Philadelphia’s home-court advantage. It’s a message Embiid delivered to the fans immediately after the Sixers eliminated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on Saturday.

“I just have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like this [our home arena] was Madison Square Garden East. So we gonna need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you,” he said. “We need you guys, the atmosphere that we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one pushing it to Game 7. We need all of it. I don’t care if it’s 70-30, it’s Knicks fans.

“They travel, and they’re gonna buy the tickets and it’s gonna be some people that need the money and are probably gonna sell the tickets — but don’t do it. We need you guys, and we’ve got a pretty good chance. We’re gonna need that support, we’re gonna need them to be extremely loud, and if you need money, I got you.”

Knicks fans are notorious for flooding road arenas, most notable along the east coast in cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington D.C., Miami and, of course, Philadelphia, just a 90-minute drive from MSG.

Knicks forward Josh Hart said after practice on Sunday he believes fans will find a way around the restrictions. Philadelphia residents can still purchase tickets and resell them on secondary markets.