PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a huge 125-114 win over the New York Knicks in Game 3 on Thursday thanks to the heroics of Joel Embiid. The big fella had a playoff career-high 50 points despite the knee injury and Bell’s Palsy bothering him.
However, a big factor in the win was the play of Cam Payne. The spark plug hopped off the bench and had 11 points while knocking down three 3s. He had eight points in the second quarter and gave Philadelphia a boost on both ends of the floor.
Along with the eight points, he also had two blocks.
“Unbelievable,” Kyle Lowry said. “I think Cam Payne was the MVP of this game. He’s staying ready. He’s always constantly got energy and he’s a guy who’s been in this situation before. high energy, high-level IQ, and we need that. It’s a guy in the playoffs that always steps up for you and every single game, it’s a different guy and tonight, Cam Payne was our real-life X factor.”
To Lowry’s point, there is always somebody who steps up in the postseason to give his team a big boost. On Thursday, that guy was Payne as he came up with the big plays the Sixers needed off the bench to match what the Knicks were receiving from theirs.
“That’s what we expect out of him,” Kelly Oubre Jr. added. “Energy and then coming in and kinda keeping us alive. That’s exactly what he did tonight, but it’s tough to stay ready when things change a lot, but for him, he’s been in a lot of big moments. He’s been in a lot of big games and finals and things like that so we lean on him just for the energy and everything he brings to the game of basketball.”
The bench unit was a big factor in New York’s wins in games 1 and 2. The Knicks received big performances from Deuce McBride, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson. Philadelphia responded in Game 3 with Payne stepping up.