Sixers list Embiid, Anunoby and Hart questionable for Game 3 vs Knicks

The injury report is the story heading into Game 3. Philadelphia has Joel Embiid listed as questionable. New York has OG Anunoby and Josh Hart listed the same way. That would be a big deal in any playoff game, but this one is the hinge of the series — the Knicks already lead 2-0, and the Sixers are back home trying to keep the round from tilting out of reach. ### Why is this game such a pivot? Because 2-0 is manageable and 3-0 basically isn’t. New York opened the series by crushing Philadelphia 137-98 in Game 1, then held on for a 108-102 win in Game 2. So Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. ET in Philadelphia is the first real pressure point for both teams — the Sixers need life, and the Knicks can grab total control. ### What’s going on with Embiid? Embiid’s listing is tied to a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness. He played in Game 1, but only a little over 24 minutes, and then sat out Game 2 entirely. Nick Nurse called him day-to-day after that loss, which fits the bigger pattern here — this doesn’t look like a clean one-in, one-out injury so much as a ### Why does Embiid matter this much? Because the whole Sixers equation changes with him. Philadelphia already looked overmatched in the blowout opener, and even without him in Game 2 the team only had enough to keep it respectable, not enough to flip the script on the game. ### What happened to Anunoby? Anunoby hurt his right hamstring late in Game 2. He grabbed at the back of his leg with about three minutes left, went to the locker room, and didn’t return. By Thursday, he had been diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and was listed as questionable for Game 3. That’s nasty timing for New York because he has been one of its most important playoff players on both ends. ### How big would an Anunoby absence be? Potentially huge. He’s been New York’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs at 21.4 points per game and has been scorching from deep, hitting 53.8% of his 3s. But the bigger thing is role fit — he guards the hardest matchup, spaces the floor, and lets the Knicks keep their size and switching intact. Lose that, and New York gets thinner fast. ### And Hart? Hart is also questionable, with a left thumb sprain. He hasn’t scored much in this series, but that almost undersells him — through two games he had 15 rebounds, 12 assists and six steals. He’s the kind of player who fills every gap, which is why the Knicks suddenly having both Hart and Anunoby on the report as probable with an illness. ### When do we actually know? The NBA’s reporting rules require a game-day injury report between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, with updates continuing through the day. So the Thursday-night “questionable” tags are real, but they are not final. Basically, this story stays live until much closer to tip. Friday was already the series pressure point. Now it’s also a medical waiting game. If Embiid can go, Philadelphia has a path back into this. If Anunoby or Hart can’t, New York’s edge gets tested. And if all three are limited, the game could swing on whichever team has more healthy, boring competence left by 9:30 Friday night.