Saturday night’s Game 3 was technically a road game for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it certainly did not feel like one. The Sixers played against the Washington Wizards in D.C., looking to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the first-round series, but it felt like there were more Sixers fans there than Wizards fans.
The venue was Capital One Arena, but it felt more like Wells Fargo Center. Every time Joel Embiid stepped to the line, very loud “MVP” chants ripped through the arena. The big fella obliged with 36 points and eight rebounds to lead the Sixers to a 132-103 win over the Wizards.
Afterward, Embiid received more “MVP” chants, and he threw his shirt to a young fan in the crowd.
“It felt like this was a Philly crowd,” said Embiid. “It felt like we had more fans. In the past, it’s always been that way. Our fans have always showed up and they’ve always been louder on the road, especially in D.C. Tonight, we felt the same.”
“I noticed them at the end of the game,” said Seth Curry who had 15 points. “A lot of them stood up and were cheering. It was great to see all the fans around, just enjoying themselves, and giving us energy throughout the game. We’re gonna need that as the playoffs go along, so I think that that feeds our team throughout the game.”
There was a moment where Embiid missed a dunk in the first half, and the Wizards fans cheered and let him know about it. When he got a second opportunity, he did not waste it: He threw down a ferocious slam. He then cuffed his ear turning to the crowd to rile them up even more.
“I missed a dunk and they let me hear about it,” he explained. “I’ve mentioned in the past that I love playing on the road. They started cheering because I missed a dunk, and I had another opportunity where I actually made a dunk so small went over to them and I wanted to hear more boos because it gets me going.”
Embiid always loves playing to the crowd and getting into the head of a lot of people. So he fed off the energy from the Wizards crowd trying to boo him.
“I just love playing on the road,” Embiid finished. “I love playing up to the boos and the fans talking trash. It gets me going.”
The Sixers will go for the sweep on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!