We saw how the New York Knicks faithful took over the Philadelphia 76ers’ home court advantage. It was so evident that the Sixers’ star center and former MVP, Joel Embiid, received loud boos. Although the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided the same fate with their 116-109 victory, they were successful in throwing out some apparent away fans.

This transpired as part of the Cavs’ timeout entertainment at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. They ran a humorous “seat upgrade” skit on apparent Detroit Pistons fans wearing Cade Cunningham jerseys. The host took the two fans near an exit door and said, “All right we ready? Say V-I-P! Let’s Go!” Sir C.C., the mascot, opened the door, and the two fans went out running and were dumbfounded when the door closed behind them. They were banging on the door, but not vigorously enough to convince viewers it was a skit.

Even the cameraman was locked outside, which again was not the motive of the Cavs. But this highlights a long-running Cavaliers arena tradition of light-hearted fan interactions during games to boost crowd engagement against visiting supporters. It was Pistons long-time writer, Jacob Richman, who recorded the viral video from the arena. He captioned it, “The Cavs did a bit during a timeout to upgrade seats for a couple fans. They were “Pistons fans” and…well.”

Social media thoroughly enjoyed the prank as the Cavs extended the series with a Game 3 win. While this was done as a skit, many NBA teams, especially in the postseason, would like to use this for real. The 76ers tried before Game of their semi-finals encounter against the Knicks but failed.

 

The Xfinity Mobile Arena made the announcement that it didn’t sell to anyone listed outside Philadelphia. Embiid even pleaded, “Don’t sell your tickets,” he told 76ers fans. Yet every chant was for the Knicks, who used the external support on the road to take a 3-0 lead. Fortunately for the Cavs, this was not the same scenario. The passionate fans rallied around their team, and James Harden and Donovan Mitchell helped with a crucial clutch win.

How did the Cavaliers script the win over the Pistons?

Detroit entered Game 3 as the East’s most dominant defensive force, as Donovan Mitchell’s 23 and 31 points, respectively, were not enough in two losses. The Pistons again came out strong and were resilient as they came back from down 16 points at halftime to force another clutch situation on Saturday. That has been the difference so far, as the Cavs have lost all four of their games in the playoffs before, while the Motor City has won four. But today, the script changed as Mitchell dropped 35 points in Game 3, as his back-court partner was the star of the show.

“Because he’s James Harden,” Mitchell said Saturday. “I am who I am. He is who he is, but that’s what makes us so dynamic. You can choose. Having the ultimate trust in him and vice versa, I think, is why those moments happen.” The Beard hit three clutch shots and scored seven points in the final 90 seconds of the game. The former MVP had struggled before and shot just 32%, including 1 for 11 on 3-pointers. However, the most embarrassing stat was that he had committed more turnovers (11) than he made field goals (nine).

Tonight was different. “I love it,” said Harden after 19 points, seven assists, and only three turnovers. “When my number is called, just getting to my spots. It’s something I work on literally every day. It’s basically repetition and it’s the confidence to go out there and do it.” With the home crowd support, even Harden was able to feed off the energy and produce a masterclass that the Cavs were waiting for.

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