Matt, a diehard 76ers fan, posted a Reddit plan tied to the ny knicks schedule before Sunday’s Game 4. He wanted Sixers fans to buy fully refundable Amtrak tickets, then cancel them shortly before the 3:30 p.m. ET tip-off to make travel more expensive for Knicks fans heading to Philadelphia.
Embiid’s home-court warning
Joel Embiid had already pushed the same theme from the other side of the aisle. After the 76ers beat the Celtics in the first round, he urged Philadelphia fans to keep their playoff tickets against New York and said, “Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like [Philadelphia] was Madison Square Garden East. We’re going to need the support,” and, “Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys.”
He added, “Knicks fans travel, they buy tickets.” The concern was not theoretical. In 2024, the Knicks beat the Sixers in the first round, and Embiid also said, “There’s going to be people who will sell the tickets because they need the money. Don’t do it, we need you guys. We need the support, and we need them to be extremely loud. If you need money, I’ve got you.”
Amtrak pricing around Game 4
The money angle in Matt’s post lined up with the market. A Post search on the Amtrak website on Friday evening found a round-trip ticket costing just shy of $300, while TickPick listed prices as low as $159 for Friday night’s Game 3 and $170 for Game 4.
That pricing sat alongside another data point from Thursday night: 59 percent of tickets sold on TickPick for Game 3 came from accounts linked to New York and New Jersey. Matt’s plan aimed at the same pressure point Embiid had worried about — out-of-town fans trying to get into Philadelphia for the series.
Knicks fans and ticket pressure
The series was already sitting at 2-0 when Matt floated the idea, making every ticket and every seat on the route into Philadelphia part of the wider fight around the matchup. New York eateries had even rebranded Philly cheesesteaks with different names for the duration of the playoff series, a sign of how far the rivalry had spilled beyond the court.
For fans trying to reach Game 4, the practical takeaway was simple: the ticket market was already moving, and the train plan added another layer of gamesmanship around access and pricing. Embiid’s warning to keep home tickets and Matt’s attempt to jam up travel costs both pointed to the same edge in the series — who shows up, and who gets priced out.
