SUMMARY
- Tyrese Maxey was fouled hard during a play in the final quarter of the game while Nick Nurse's time out request was ignored.
- Joel Embiid slammed the referees and told the media that whatever happened was unacceptable.
Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers experienced the worst possible officiating and nobody from their camp is happy about it. The New York Knicks managed to secure a Game 2 victory at the Madison Square Garden. This is an incredibly challenging situation to be in, for Philly and it will not look good if the Knicks manage to get their lead up to three games.
However, coming back to Game 2, the referees are never going to hear the end of it. It was during the final moments of the fourth quarter when Jalen Brunson made a three-pointer from the wing. Nick Nurse tried to call a timeout for the Sixers, but the referees blatantly ignored his request.
Now while the Sixers were about the inbound the ball, Brunson grabbed Tyrese Maxey’s jersey as he was given the ball. Maxey fell to the floor while Nurse and a few other Sixers players tried to call timeout. The Knicks managed to force the ball out of Maxey’s hands and into Donte DiVincenzo. He made a three-pointer then gave the Knicks a two-point lead. This ultimately cost the Sixers Game 2.
Joel Embiid looks extremely frustrated after the Sixers’ Game 2 loss
Joel Embiid addressed the poor officiating that took place during the final moments of the game. He said, “Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout… but they didn’t give it to us. But you know, forget about time-outs, there’s a bunch of fouls. Like I said, that f**king unacceptable.” Embiid finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. During the locker room interview, Embiid didn’t try to look at the reporters that were questioning him.
However, Embiid remains confident that the Sixers will come around and win the series. He said, “We’re going to win this series. We know what we’ve got to fix and we did a better job today. So we’re going to fix it. We’re the better team. And we’re going to keep fighting.” Nick Nurse also addressed the play during the post-game press conference and he revealed that the referees ignored him even though they looked at him.
Joel Embiid and the Sixers plan on filing a grievance against the NBA
This could be a major problem if the Sixers move ahead and file a grievance against the NBA for the poor officiating that took place during Game 2. The referees involved were Courtney Kirkland, John Goble, Gediminas Petraitis, and John Butler. Neither of them has a terrible history in the league, but they are bound to be under public scrutiny after this major mishap.
76ers plan to file a grievance with the NBA “over the officiating across the first two games” of their series vs. Knicks, per @TimBontemps pic.twitter.com/fM9iIdABXv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2024
Embiid also addressed the minor melee that went on between him and Brunson while the timeout requests were ignored. He said, “That’s on the league, that’s on the NBA, that’s on the f**king referees. You know, I hate to put the game on them. But I’m sure the two-minute Report is going to come out and we’re going to see what happened.” Maxey also had a great game finishing with 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. The 76ers and Knicks are headed to the Wells Fargo Center for Games 3 and 4.