A 76ers-Knicks rematch returns Monday, with Embiid pleading to fans: 'Don’t sell your tickets'

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Finally finished with Boston, a trip to New York came quickly for the Philadelphia 76ers. So did the memories.

The Eastern Conference semifinals are a rematch of a tight series between Atlantic Division rivals from nearby Northeast cities, a Knicks victory in six games in 2024.

Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey delivered unbelievable performances. Both teams made unimaginable rallies.

Knicks fans were deafening inside Madison Square Garden — and in Philadelphia. (And no, Joel Embiid hasn't forgotten).

When it was over, the Knicks had outscored the 76ers 650-649. They start up again Monday night, believing this series can be even better.

“I expect nothing less. Actually more,” Maxey said. “That was a first-round matchup. This is a second-round matchup. So I think both teams are going to come out there and be extremely competitive. It’s going to be a dogfight, it’s going to be a chess match and I’m just ready to get started.”

The Knicks had a few days to rest after finishing off Atlanta with a 140-89 victory on Thursday in Game 6, setting an NBA postseason record by building a 47-point halftime lead. The 76ers have only one full day to recover after completing the NBA's 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit by beating the Celtics 109-100 on Saturday.

Philadelphia became the first No. 7 seed to beat a No. 2 since the first round became a best-of-seven format. That was the matchup when the 76ers and Knicks met two years ago.

The 76ers were on the verge of tying that series in Game 2 before the Knicks came from five points down with under 30 seconds remaining. Brunson scored a Knicks playoff-record 47 points in Game 4 and New York was poised to wrap it up at home in Game 5 before Maxey scored seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation and the 76ers won in overtime.

“Man, that was a fun series. We were going punch for punch," Josh Hart said after the Knicks practiced Sunday. "When you think about that, you always think of the good games, so you guys can guess what games those are. But you know that you've got to turn the page. Those are memories. They don't affect tomorrow but they're fun memories.”

Embiid returned midway through the Boston series after an appendectomy and was limping late in Game 7 after a player fell into his knee. He appeared in worse shape in the series two years ago, dealing with lingering problems from a surgically repaired left knee and having been diagnosed recently with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis.

“I had a lot going on at that time, so hopefully everything is good this time,” Embiid said. “We've got a much better team than we had at that time, so it's going to be a fun series.”

The Knicks also appear better, having since acquired All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. They are in the second round for the fourth straight season and the No. 3 seed surprisingly ended up with home-court advantage in it thanks to Philadelphia's first-round rally.

Now the Knicks have to deal with the Embiid-Maxey duo that's clicking.

“If we expect to be who we are,” coach Mike Brown said, “we’ll figure it out.”

Brunson received booming “MVP! MVP!” chants in the Game 4 victory in 2024 after Knicks fans poured into Philadelphia, and Embiid expressed his disappointment with 76ers fans after the game. He implored them not to let the noisy New Yorkers take over again.

“Last time we played the Knicks it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East. So we’re going to need the support,” Embiid said. "Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one pushing it to Game 7, I mean, we need all of it.

“Knicks fans, they travel. There’s going to be some people that need the money and probably going to sell tickets, but don’t do it. We need you guys. We’ve got a pretty good chance. We’re going to need our support. We’re going to need them to be extremely loud and if you need money, I got you.”

Home-court advantage didn't exist, with the road team winning all four games. The first two were at Madison Square Garden before the Knicks took two in Philadelphia, capped by a 139-89 romp on Feb. 11.

The two star guards seem ready to pick up where they left off in 2024. Maxey averaged 26.9 points in the first round, third in the league, and Brunson was right behind him at 26.3.

New York's All-Star center is the biggest addition to the rivalry since the last meeting and showed his entire offensive arsenal in the first round, getting the first two postseason triple-doubles of his career against Atlanta.

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Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (left) and teammate VJ Edgecombe (right) during the second half of Game 7 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) celebrates after scoring in the first half during Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Atlanta Hawks Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts during the second half of Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Boston Celtics Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) high fives fans as he leaves the court in the second half during Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (0), Vj Edgecombe (77) and Paul George (8) celebrate during the second half of Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Boston Celtics Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday that Russian drone strikes near the Ukraine-Poland border — one of which hit a train shortly after senior visiting officials had passed through the same station — would drive the military alliance to increase its support for Kyiv, calling Sunday's attacks a sign of Moscow's growing desperation.

The strikes “close to NATO territory” show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror,” Rutte said at NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels. “Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine.”

Rutte pledged to increase support for Ukraine and bolster the 32-nation alliance’s own defenses along its long eastern border with Russia.

“He thinks that he can stop us from supporting Ukraine and that he can undermine our unity. He is wrong,” the NATO chief said of Putin.

Sunday’s strikes near the Polish border are the latest in a string of incidents that officials say point to a deliberate pattern of escalation by Putin, as Moscow tests NATO’s response while pressing its offensive in Ukraine.

Rutte's comments came as Poland pledged increased security along its border with Ukraine after a wave of Russian drone strikes near the frontier, including two that landed within kilometers of Polish territory.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned Sunday that Moscow appears poised to intensify its campaign against Ukraine’s borders with European countries. Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses.

“These coming weeks and months will be a time of very intensified actions on the Russian side, and unfortunately we cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory,” Tusk said Sunday after a governmental security briefing in Warsaw. He issued a similar warning on Thursday.

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Monday in a post on X that the Polish army recovered what was believed to be a Russian military drone from the Baltic Sea near the coastal village of Jaroslawiec.

Polish officials said intelligence reports, including a CIA briefing last week, suggested Russia was likely to attack border points and intensify sabotage actions inside European countries as part of its efforts to discourage partners from supporting Ukraine.

Tusk said he would consult NATO allies on preparing a potential joint response.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski underscored the alliance’s military edge in a social media post, saying that in the event of Russian aggression against NATO, European NATO air forces, without U.S. participation, would be capable of destroying half of Russia’s oil refineries faster than Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk described Sunday’s drone strikes as a serious escalation from Russia. He told broadcaster TVN24 on Monday that any spillover into European countries could take the form of sabotage or a sharp intensification of hybrid warfare “on a scale that we have not seen before,” or other actions along NATO’s borders.

The warnings followed a strike Sunday on a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, minutes after a diplomatic delegation that included former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed through the same station, according to Ukraine’s state rail operator. A second strike hit near a separate border crossing point between Poland and Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said Monday that the drone attacks near Poland's border were “clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine.”

“We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared,” she said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked Monday about the strike on the train near the Polish border, said Russian forces were operating “across the entire territory of Ukraine and continues to do so — and will continue to do so.”

Peskov noted the potential role of Global South nations in a settlement, saying “any country can use its influence on the Kyiv regime to encourage it to show greater flexibility.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi each expressed willingness to help broker a settlement during recent meetings with Putin, who briefed them on the situation in Ukraine, Peskov said.

Peskov also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel facilities, saying “any call on the Kyiv regime to stop strikes on civilian economic infrastructure can only be welcomed.”

Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past an average of $6 per gallon.

Morton reported from London. Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrives for the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, speaks during a joint news conference with Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office, a locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine's border with Poland, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office via AP)