Not even a week ago, the Philadelphia 76ers were celebrating their furious rally against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. After finding themselves trailing 3-1 against the high-powered C’s, the Sixers surprisingly rattled off three straight wins to punch their ticket to the second round of the playoffs.
Now, three games later, Philadelphia finds itself staring down the barrel at a 0-3 series deficit after suffering a 108-94 defeat in Game 3 against the New York Knicks on Friday night. Philly has looked nothing like the team that picked up three straight dominant victories to send Boston packing, and after the Sixers’ latest loss, Paul George issued an NSFW four-word message to the rest of his teammates.
Paul George Doesn’t Hold Back After Sixers’ Game 3 Loss
In their final three wins against the Celtics, the 76ers showed a glimpse of what this team is capable of when it is playing its best basketball. With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey being the leaders on offense, Philly has a pair of superstars who can create open looks for themselves or their teammates whenever they have the ball in their hands. Guys like George, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Quentin Grimes can help behind them by chipping in as secondary scorers.
While Embiid’s return has taken the Sixers to another level, George’s strong play against the C’s was one of the bigger surprises of the playoffs. George averaged 17.4 points per game while shooting 48.9% from the field, and he was even better from behind the arc, as he hit 55% of his threes. Philly rightfully believed that, if George could keep shooting like this, it could really go on a deep run.
Instead, George and the rest of his teammates have come crashing back down to earth against the Knicks (17 PPG on 40.4% shooting through three games). Now, the team will have to pull off an unprecedented rally in order to find its way to the Eastern Conference Finals. For George, though, he isn’t even looking that far ahead.
“S***, win a game,” George simply said when asked for his message to his team now that they are facing a 0-3 series deficit.
Sixers Are in Serious Trouble After Game 3 Loss
GettyTyrese Maxey and Paul George broke down what went wrong for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 108-102 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2.
No team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series, and there isn’t much evidence that suggests the Sixers are going to be the team that changes that. Philly’s offense has been stymied by New York, and it has no answers on the other end of the floor, as Jalen Brunson has routinely carved up its defense.
George personified the 76ers’ woes in Game 3 by scoring 15 points in the first quarter of the game, only to follow that up by missing every shot he took the rest of the game. The Sixers are running out of answers, and unless they can make some groundbreaking discovery soon, it looks like their season could be coming to a disappointing conclusion on Sunday afternoon in Game 4.
Paul George Sends 4-Word NSFW Message to Sixers After Game 3 Loss to Knicks