NEWSLETTER
The Philadelphia 76ers’ 102-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets didn’t come without some drama.
Not even three minutes into the game, Brooklyn big man Nic Claxton rose for the alley-oop over Joel Embiid. After slamming it down, Claxton proceeded to step over the tumbling 76er, which led to Embiid forcefully kicking upward and knocking Claxton over.
Here’s the play:
And here’s another look:
Believe it or not, though, in a game with two ejections, this wasn’t one of them. The first came in the 3rd quarter when James Harden hit Royce O’Neal underneath the belt while trying to drive to the rim. The refs shockingly reviewed the call and deemed it a flagrant 2.
I don’t know about you, but this sure didn’t seem ejection-worthy to me. Were they just trying to make up for the Embiid call?
The second ejection came not too far after in the final frame. Nic Claxton was administered a second technical for celebrating a dunk on Joel Embiid. And, to be honest, it was another pretty weak call when we consider the playoff stakes.
The refs never fail to disappoint, folks! I truly don’t understand how you can make those two calls but not administer the same punishment for what Embiid did, especially in the wake of the Draymond Green suspension!
I’ll be interested to now see if this emotional game can help Brooklyn avoid a sweep. They’ll host Game 4 down 0-3 on Saturday afternoon.
