PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks lost a scrap in the sandbox to the Sixers and the MVP version of Joel Embiid.

It got dirty. Feisty. The Sixers went for eyes and legs.

And Embiid, lucky not to be ejected after grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s legs, emerged victorious, riding a dominant third quarter to finish with 50 points and a 125-114 Thursday win for Philly.

The result kept the series on serve with the Knicks leading, 2-1, and Game 4 not until Sunday afternoon in Wells Fargo Center.

No team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit, so Thursday was essentially an elimination game for the Sixers and they played with that type of desperation.

Embiid, who set a new career-high for the playoffs, was physical and efficient while hitting 13 of his 19 shots with eight rebounds, dropping 18 points in the third quarter — which the Sixers ended on a 32-19 run to take a 13-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Jalen Brunson had his best game of the series while recording 39 points with 13 assists.

But defense was an issue for the Knicks, who allowed the Sixers to shoot 55 percent and hit 15 treys.

It was spicy early.

Three plays were reviewed in the opening eight minutes, all Sixers fouls.

Kyle Lowry was whistled for an early Flagrant 1 after slapping Donte DiVincenzo in the face on a Knicks drive.

A couple minutes later, Embiid appeared to knee Isaiah Hartenstein in the groin — perhaps on purpose — and was given an offensive foul.

Not long after that, Embiid fell to the court and grabbed Robinson as he attempted a dunk.

Embiid was given a Flagrant 1, and he was lucky it wasn’t upgraded to a Flagrant 2 ejection.

The reigning MVP was eager to muck up the game after declaring the Sixers were the better team and would win the series.

He pushed and menaced.

The Knicks physically dominated the games in MSG, and Embiid arrived on a mission not to let that happen again.

The atmosphere was, as expected, loud.

Sixers supporters dominated the crowd but Knicks fans also showed up, boosted in spirit and confidence by the 2-0 series lead.

The most prevalent storyline heading into the matchup concerned the officiating and the idea the Sixers were cheated out of Game 2. It prompted Nick Nurse’s team to issue a list of grievances through the media and Embiid to declare his team should be winning the series, which Josh Hart shrugged off.

“I don’t care, they’re not. We’re up 2-0,” Hart said at the morning shootaround. “When the NBA starts basing the series on what we think, then I would care a little bit more. We’re up 2-0, right now we’re just focused on trying to get our third one.”

It didn’t work.

Embiid was a force but, by the end, was limping on his surgically-repaired left knee.

He was aided by 25 points from Tyrese Maxey and 15 from Kelly Oubre Jr. Killed on the boards in the first two games — especially in Game 1 — the Sixers responded by winning the rebounding battle, 36-34.

For the Knicks, Hart had 20 points with six rebounds and six assists.

OG Anunoby recorded 17 points but only six after the first half.

DiVincenzo, a hero of Game 2, missed all 3 of his trey attempts and finished with just five points.