-
Tim BontempsESPN
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said he believed Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James should be considered a 2-point foul and be ruled out from Philadelphia 107-106 home victory over the defending champions Wednesday night.
“Well, first of all, I mean, you look at it, that’s a very dangerous play,” said Embiid about James’ ball, which came at the 5:44 mark in the third quarter. “I promise you if it was me, I might have been kicked out of the game, which has happened in the past by getting strong dirt for him Really nothing. “
While Embiid was upset that James had only been awarded flag 1 – allowing James to stay in the game – Embiid was equally concerned that, 68 seconds later, he was called for flag 1 himself for elbow to Anthony Davis that Embiid did not believe deserved that punishment.
“When you compare that to the one I got, which I thought I didn’t really hit, I didn’t delete it,” said Embiid, who had 28 points, 6 rebounds , 4 assists and 2 beats closed in 38 minutes. “Maybe I touched him. But I don’t think he deserved the flag, if you compare those two.
“Those are difficult plays, and I just thought, you know, that it should be a flagship 2.”
For his part, Sixers coach Doc Rivers, a product of a different era of the sport in which there was more physical play than the game of today, said he did not think one play should be called for a flag. between.
His only concern right now was that Embiid, who fell several feet on his back and went to the floor in pain, was completely after that. And although Embiid didn’t move as well after the play, he managed to stay in the game and help the Sixers win.
“First of all, LeBron is not a dirty player,” Rivers said. “It was just a physical play, and they had to raise the flag, I think.
“You know, all flags tonight … you get an easy flag these days. But that fall was sad, and there was worry, for sure. With the fact that Joel kept go, he was clearly not the only one after that, as far as his movement, and we knew that, and we used him a lot in pick-and-rolls because of that . “
Embiid, who has been in the injury report on and off recently with a sore back that has kept him out of a game or two, said he will not know how his back will react until after he wakes up. in the morning but he felt constrained during the game.
Embiid said part of Philadelphia ‘s fall down the stretch – which saw the Lakers get 13 points straight to knock out a 12 – point Sixers lead with three minutes to go and lead 106-105 with 11.2 seconds left – partly due to its back restricting its movement.
“I have to,” Embiid said of a Philadelphia end-game slide. “I missed a scene or two. I didn’t have legs. Not because I was tired, which I wasn’t, but my back didn’t allow me to take control of how I’ve been doing. in the fourth quarter. I missed a scene or two, we made a couple of defensive mistakes, they did a little 3p, and so they were up one. “
But just as it looked like the ongoing questions about the Sixers and the inability to shut down the piece would come back to haunt Philadelphia again, the Sixers were shot out by an awful bullet with Tobias Harris, who grabbed a pass with confidence, dribbed to the elbow against the Lakers guarding Alex Caruso and rose to bury the winning jersey with 3.0 seconds left.
“I’m a person I see myself in those spots, so when the opportunity came … that’s a picture I work over and over again, but in the those times just be confident enough to let go and be okay with the outcome.
“Tonight, he did well.”
It was a bullet that allowed the Sixers to laugh at these late subscriptions, a piece that almost ruined what was an incredible achievement by the guests over the first 45 minutes of the game. against the NBA defensive champions, one Harris said his team saw him as a measuring stick given to the opponent.
“I’d say a bit of both,” Harris, who finished with 22 points, said when asked if he would focus more on being happy than hitting the winner or being harassed at a late Philadelphia sloppy play. “I would say there is always growth in everything. So, tonight ‘s win is a big win for us against a great team, but at the same time, we know we could be better, to special in the fourth quarter. “