PHILADELPHIA — It doesn’t sound like Joel Embiid will get his wish.
Xfinity Mobile Arena may sound like Madison Square Garden Southwest on Friday night.
Ticket prices for Games 3 and 4 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series are dropping, and a large portion of tickets bought off secondary markets went to residents of New York City and New Jersey, according to Kyle Zorn, the director of content for TickPick, a ticket resale marketplace.
In fact, 59 percent of tickets purchased on TickPick for Game 3 are linked to New York and New Jersey, while just 22 percent are connected to Pennsylvania
That’s not a good sign for Embiid and the 76ers, who trail the Knicks 2-0 in the series.
After Philadelphia advanced to the second round Saturday, Embiid pleaded with 76ers fans not to sell their tickets, to avoid a repeat of two years ago when Knicks fans took over the Philly arena.
The 76ers mimicked the Pistons plan from a year ago by limiting tickets to residents of the Philadelphia area.
A message on the team’s website read: “Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside [of the] Greater Philadelphia area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
“Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like [Philadelphia] was Madison Square Garden East. We’re going to need the support,” Embiid said then. “Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys.
“Knicks fans travel, they buy tickets. 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.”
But with the 76ers in a big hole in this series, and Embiid’s health a question mark again — he missed Game 2 due to ankle and hip injuries and is questionable for Friday’s Game 3 — it appears their fans are losing faith.
Zorn said that up to 3,400 tickets are now available on TickPick for Game 3, and 5,000 for Game 4 on Sunday. Furthermore, prices have dropped heavily. At the start of the series, the get-in price for Game 3 was $272. Now, it is $165.
Those are far cheaper than the prices for the first two games of the series at the Garden.
“Overnight [after Game 2], we saw a huge spike in the amount of inventory being listed. Had the series gone 1-1, or if it went 2-0 Philadelphia, you would see a decrease in inventory or a stable amount of tickets on site,” Zorn said. “That is very telling. A lot of signs are pointing to there being a large percentage of fans coming from New York.
“I would expect a majority of those tickets being put up for sale coming from season ticket holders or anyone who purchased tickets from that initial on sale that was restricted to Philadelphia geolocations,” he added.
