PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is disappointed, and not just because his Philadelphia 76ers are only one game away from elimination.

Following a 97-92 defeat to the New York Knicks on Sunday that widened Philadelphia’s deficit in its first-round series to 3-1, Embiid said that he found the turnout at his home arena “disappointing.”

Knicks fans filled up large portions of the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, serenading the team with cheers and its point guard, Jalen Brunson, with MVP chants.

“I love our fans,” Embiid said after the game. “(I) think it’s unfortunate and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously you got a lot of Knicks fans and they’re down the road and I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up and I don’t think that should happen. Yeah. It’s not OK.”

“Kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town.” pic.twitter.com/zfghjGvi94

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 28, 2024

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New Yorkers didn’t show up only because the Knicks own one of the NBA’s largest fan bases. It was also about the location.

The Amtrak ride from New York’s Penn Station to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is only 90 minutes. With a 1 p.m., weekend tipoff, Knicks fans could take the train down to Philly and return home before dinner time. Of course, Knicks fans are known for traveling well.

The team routinely takes over crowds in other, less intense markets. Orlando is often referred to in jest as New York South, because of all the Knicks fans who invade Kia Center whenever the orange and blue play there. Knicks fans swarm Capital One Arena crowd in Washington, D.C., twice a year, too, as do those in attendance just across the bridge at Barclays Center.

This is not the first time they have streamed into the Wells Fargo Center, either. In January, Knicks fans spilled into the 76ers’ arena during a 36-point romping of Philly. By the end, when many of the Philadelphia fans had cleared out, Brunson was receiving MVP chants in a road arena, one that houses an otherwise passionate fan base — and the reigning MVP, Embiid.

Philly sports fans have their own reputation, too.

They live or die with their major sports teams, including the 76ers. Brunson, who went for 47 points in the Game 4 victory, is more familiar with it than your average NBA player. He may have never played for the Sixers, but he starred in college at Villanova University, which is just outside Philadelphia and plays its games in the same arena as the Sixers.

“No matter where we are, they’re gonna be there. I’m appreciative, I’m thankful… and a lot of these situations wouldn’t be done without them.”

Brunson on seeing Knicks fans and hearing MVP chants in Philly 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ZJnyoULyJw

— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2024

There’s one more reason, too.

“This Philadelphia fan base, I’ve said this before, they’re very relentless, very passionate,” Brunson said. “I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know, but seeing the Knicks, hearing the Knicks here is pretty cool. It’s awesome.”

(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Is any relationship official until it is Instagram official nowadays?

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel appeared to officially reveal his relationship with model Josie Canseco on the social media platform on Monday. He posted a black and white photo on his Instagram Stories showing the two getting real close.

The two had been at Stagecoach together – the country music festival headlined by Morgan Wallen.

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It is unclear when the two started dating. Manziel and Canseco started the dating rumors earlier this month when they were spotted on a plane together, according to TMZ Sports. Canseco posted a photo of her new kicks which were thrust upon the ex-NFL player’s legs.

Canseco, the daughter of MLB bash bro Jose Canseco, had dated rapper Mike Stud, Brody Jenner and Logan Paul in the past. Manziel has had relationships with Bre Tiesi and Kenzie Werner.

Josie Canseco at the Giorgio Armani Prisma Glass Launch Party on March 22, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

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Recently, Manziel went to bat for Reggie Bush in hopes the former USC star running back would receive his Heisman Trophy back. The crusade was eventually won as the Heisman Trust gave the statue back to the college football great last week.

Josie Canseco and Johnny Manziel are together. (Getty Images)

“Thank you to the @HeismanTrophy for doing what’s right and welcoming a storied member of our history back into the fold,” Manziel wrote on X. “There were many voices throughout this process that stood on the table for Reggie simply because of the kind of human being he is. I look forward to being on that stage with you this December @ReggieBush you deserve it.”

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At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Blake Lizotte is the smallest player on either side of the Kings-Oilers playoff series.

Unlike Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are former first-round draft picks and Hart Trophy winners, Lizotte has had to fight to keep his place in the NHL. Undrafted out of high school, he played first in the amateur USHL before going to college, then went undrafted again before signing an entry-level contract with the Kings.

But if McDavid, arguably the best player in the NHL, typifies the skill and grace with which the high-flying Oilers play, then Lizotte represents the blue-collar, lunch-bucket approach that defines the Kings.

“That’s our identity,” said Lizotte, who centers the Kings’ fourth line. “Look at their two guys over there, 100-plus points. We don’t even have a 90-point guy. I think that’s part of our team identity, to play a little more grinder-ish.”

So what if the Kings are a loss away from elimination entering Game 5 of their best-of-seven first-round Western Conference series Wednesday in Edmonton? If you’re a grinder, odds don’t matter. Lizotte’s very presence in the NHL proves that grit and tenacity can overcome glamour and talent.

And if the Kings are to come back from a 3-1 series deficit, the undersized Lizotte will have to play an outsized role.

“The playoffs usually are a grind. So you have to make sure that you play that style,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. “We just have to play it better.”

The Kings scored only once in two home games and are on the brink of losing a first-round series to the Oilers for the third consecutive season. In 2022, they lost in seven games. In 2023, they lost in six games. Another loss Wednesday, and they’ll be out in five.

The Kings aren’t progressing, they’re going backward — and blame for their regression can be shared.

Trevor Moore, the Kings’ leading goal scorer in the regular season, has scored only once in the playoffs. Anze Kopitar has a goal and two assists, but all of his points came in the same game. And center Pierre Luc-Dubois, the team’s big offseason signing, has been credited with only one shot in the last three games.

Quinton Byfield, one of the few Kings who has played up to expectations, had assists in the first three games. The Kings have outscored Edmonton by five goals when he has been on the ice, the best plus/minus rating on the team.

Lizotte, meanwhile, brings a different kind of energy as the Kings’ spark plug and emotional leader, especially on the penalty kill. Working the PK is often a thankless, inglorious task, but one that was key to the Kings’ success in the regular season. Its struggles have played a prominent role in its three playoff losses.

The Kings had the second-best penalty-killing unit in the NHL during the regular season, but they rank last in the playoffs, giving up eight goals when shorthanded 15 times.

The power play also has struggled, going 0 for 11 in the series.

At even strength, the Kings and Oilers each have 10 goals. But Edmonton has blitzed the Kings’ not-so-special special teams, notching at least one power-play goal in every game.

“They have so many different options,” Lizotte said of the Oilers, who have seen five different players contribute a goal or assist on the power play, led by McDavid, who has a goal and seven assists. “Out of the same looking set, they have three different options, where other teams might have one or two. And obviously they do it at a speed that’s much higher than maybe your average power play.

“So first and foremost, you just can’t take penalties.”

The Kings tried that in Game 4, going to the box only once. But Andreas Englund’s holding penalty in the second period was the opportunity the Oilers needed to spoil the Kings’ most complete performance of the series, with Evan Bouchard scoring the game’s only goal.

“It’s the kind of game you have to replicate every single game,” center Phillip Danault said. “That’s the only way you can win against Edmonton right now. We have to play the same exact way.”

To stand a chance of bringing the series back to L.A. for Game 6, the Kings also need another big effort from goaltender David Rittich, who came off the bench to start Game 4 and quieted an Oilers offense that was averaging more than five goals. But they’ll also need Lizotte and the rest of the penalty-killing unit to stand tall as well against an Edmonton power play that’s averaging nearly four chances a game.

“That’s just too many. You give those players that many chances, they’re going to score,” Lizotte said. “We’ve had opportunities to kill penalties, important moments, and haven’t gotten it done.

“We need to get it done. Timely penalties are what kind of has been our Achilles’ heel.”