Philadelphia 76ers legend has a plea for the team’s fans: “Come out and support our Sixers”

For a while in the New York Knicks -Philadelphia 76ers first-round series, it seemed like the Knicks were ready to put away the opponents at home. Leading by six with 28 seconds left in regulation, New York ended up losing in overtime because of Tyrese Maxey 's heroics.

As a result, the series now stands at 3-2 and will return to Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. The Sixers can extend it further if they win Game 6. However, it would prove to be a difficult task if they can't get enough support from the home crowd. As such, franchise legend Julius Erving has a request for the Sixers faithful.

An invasion by Knicks fans

Game 4 in Philadelphia saw a huge throng of Knicks supporters in the stands. The number of opposing fans was significant enough for Knicks star Jalen Brunson to get loud "MVP!" chants. Ironically, last season's MVP, Joel Embiid, was also in the house.

Given that Philly is known for being a sports town, Embiid said it pissed him off that NYK's fans appear to have outnumbered their Sixers counterpart. Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered for the 76ers if they had won Game 4, but Brunson scored 47 to lift the Knicks to a 97-92 victory and help the squad go up 3-1.

Erving likely caught wind of the situation; hence, the post on X (formerly Twitter) to try to inspire the Sixers crowd to attend the game and consequently not give any Knicks supporter a seat inside the arena.

Giving the fans plenty of reasons to cheer

The Sixers have proven worth cheering for on Tuesday. They showed a never-say-die attitude in the face of elimination and competed hard enough to live to fight another day.

Maxey pulled off a Reggie Miller-esque performance by scoring seven in the final 25 seconds of the fourth quarter, including a four-point play and a 3-pointer from the logo to send the contest to overtime. He added five points in overtime to finish with a playoff-career-high 46.

It will be interesting to watch what he is in store for an encore. Philly will need a similar performance, if not better, from the reigning Most Improved Player because the Knicks are likely raring to end the series instead of going home for a seventh meeting.

Related: Joel Embiid reacts to 'Fuc* Embiid' chants at MSG in Game 5 vs. Knicks: "It's not hostile"