Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — There have been plenty of blowouts so far during this NBA postseason, but the series between the No. 2 New York Knicks and No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers is close, with the Knicks leading 3-2.

Now, the 76ers are fighting for their playoff lives at home tonight.

To help put them in the best possible position to succeed, 76ers ownership, including Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, is teaming up to purchase more than 2,000 tickets to give away to fans, more particularly, fans who are first responders, healthcare professionals, various community groups, and more.

The reasoning? It's to keep Knicks fans out of the building.

“Josh Harris, David Blitzer, @david_adelman and I just bought more than 2,000 tix for Sixers Game 6 - we absolutely CANNOT let Knicks fans take over our arena again! Giving them to first responders, health care professionals and other local Philadelphia-based organizations once we know they’re legit Sixers fans and not imposters!  Let’s go Sixers - we can do this!” Harris wrote.

This comes after Knicks fans overtook the stadium on Sunday night, beating the 76ers 97-92. Throughout the game, you could hear “MVP” chants for Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

At Madison Square Garden, Knicks fans were chanting profanity against 76ers star Joel Embiid.

“It’s not hostile. I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years,” Embiid said. “So I just love New York and then the fans when you play against a team, you know, they’re always gonna pick that guy. They seem to have picked me, which is fine. I love it. If I gotta be the punching bag and hear a lot of ‘F— Embiid,’ that’s okay. I love it. I wish I was myself. It usually gets me going in those situations because you want to put yourself in those situations and kind of shut them up.

“It’s just supporting their team. They’ve been amazing. That’s why they’re the Knicks, they get hyped about everything and they’ve been doing a fantastic job.”

On top of purchasing these tickets, the “Bricken for Chicken” promotion will be extended throughout the entire game.

With this promotion, if a Knicks player misses both free throws, the entire crowd is awarded free chicken nuggets, courtesy of Chick-fil-A.

According to the 76ers website, the “Nugget Counter” is at 902,183. So, if a Knicks player misses both of their free throws, that number should soar over one million. This promotion is typically reserved for the second half of games.

Heading into Game 6, the 76ers are dealing with a plethora injuries, including Robert Covington who’s out with a knee injury, and Embiid, who’s battling a knee injury and Bell’s Palsy.

This is certainly a change in how the 76ers have historically sold tickets.

According to Crossing Board, the 76ers used to have the largest season ticket holder base, but that has shrunk as fans expressed more interest in group packages and individual tickets.

The 76ers finished 47-35 this season, whereas the Knicks were 50-32 and surpassed the Milwaukee Bucks for that No. 2 seed.

A win tonight for the Knicks will send them to the Conference Semi-Finals against the winner of the Bucks and the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers hold a 3-2 lead.

If the 76ers win, this series will go to Game 7 on Saturday, May 4 at 7:00 pm ET live from Madison Square Garden.

The 76ers are 1-1 at home this playoff series, with their lone win coming in Game 3 by a margin of 125-114.

Tonight, the 76ers hope to get another fantastic showing from Tyrese Maxey, who scored 46 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

It’s time to see if the ticket purchases will pay off.

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