-
Tim BontempsESPN
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said he believed the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James should have taken a blatant foul 2 and been kicked out of Philadelphia’s 107-106 victory over the defending champion on Wednesday night.
“Well, first of all, I mean, you look at it, it’s a very dangerous move,” said Embiid of James’s lack, which came in at 5:44 in the third quarter. “I guarantee that, if it had been me, I probably would have been kicked out of the game, which has happened to me in the past with gross fouls for nothing.”
While Embiid was irritated by James getting only one flagrant 1 – allowing him to stay in the game – he was equally troubled by the fact that, 68 seconds later, he himself was called in for a flagrant 1 to elbow Anthony Davis that Embiid did not. he believed he deserved that penalty.
“When you compare this to what I did, which I thought I didn’t really hit, I didn’t elbow,” said Embiid, who had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in 38 minutes. “I may have touched him. But I don’t think he deserved the flag, if you will compare the two.
“These are tough plays, and I just thought, you know, it should have been a blatant 2.”
For his part, Sixers coach Doc Rivers, a product of an era different from the sport that featured more physical play than today’s game, said he did not think any of the plays should have been considered flagrant.
His only concern at the moment was that Embiid, who fell several feet on his back and writhed in pain, was fine after falling. And while Embiid was not moving so well after the move, he managed to stay in the game and help the Sixers win.
“First of all, LeBron is not a dirty player,” said Rivers. “It was just a physical move and they had to call it flagrant, I think.
“You know, all the strikes tonight … you can get an easy streak today. But that fall was difficult, and there was some concern there for sure. The fact that Joel continued, clearly he was not the same after that. , when it comes to its movement. And we kind of knew that, and we used it a lot in pick and roll because of that. “
Embiid, who has been on the injury report recently entering and leaving with a back pain that kept him out of a game or two, said he will not know how he reacts until after waking up in the morning, but that he felt it limiting him during the game.
He said that part of Philadelphia’s collapse in the final stretch, which saw the Lakers score 13 consecutive points to erase the Sixers’ 12-point lead with three minutes left and take the lead 106-105 with 11.2 seconds remaining, it was partly because of his limited back movement.
“It is up to me,” said Embiid of the fall at the end of the Philadelphia game. “I missed some shots. I just had no legs. Not because I was tired, which I wasn’t, but my back just didn’t allow me to dominate the way I’ve been doing in the fourth quarters. I missed some shots, we made some mistakes in defense, they committed a few 3s and suddenly they won 1. “
But just when it seemed that ongoing issues about the Sixers and their inability to close the stretch would once again haunt Philadelphia again, the Sixers were saved by a terrible shot by Tobias Harris, who made a confident pass, dribbled to the elbow against Lakers guard Alex Caruso and got up to bury what turned out to be the winning jumper with 3.0 seconds remaining.
“I am a person who visualizes myself at these points, so when the opportunity arises … it is a scene that I work on continuously, but in those moments just being confident enough to let it go and be okay with the result.
“Tonight, it went well.”
It was a shot that also allowed the Sixers to laugh at the weaknesses at the end of the game, a stretch that almost ruined what had been an incredibly impressive performance by the hosts in the first 45 minutes against the NBA champions, a Harris said his team saw it as a measure given to the opponent.
“I would say a little bit of both,” said Harris, who finished with 22 points, when asked whether he would concentrate more on being happy to have hit the winner or being frustrated by the sloppy Philadelphia game. “I would say there is always growth in everything. So tonight’s victory is a big victory for us against a great team, but at the same time, we know that we can be better, especially in the fourth period.”