Philadelphia 76ers ‘Joel Embiid says Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James should have been sent off for misconduct

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has said he believes Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James should have been fouled 2 and sent off in Philadelphia’s 107-106 win over the Champions in title Wednesday night.

“Well, first of all I mean you look, it’s a very dangerous game,” Embiid said of James’ foul, which came at 5:44 of the third quarter. “I guarantee you if it was me I probably would have been kicked out of the game, which has happened in the past with gross fouls really for nothing.”

While Embiid was annoyed that James was only given a blatant 1 – allowing him to stay in the match – he was also annoyed that, 68 seconds later, he was called out for a blatant 1 him – even for an elbow to Anthony Davis. that Embiid did not think he deserved this sanction.

“When you compare that to the one I got, which I thought I didn’t really hit him, I didn’t elbow him,” said Embiid, who had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 shots blocked in 38. minutes. “I could have touched him. But I don’t think it deserved the blatant, if you want to compare these two.

“These are tough games, and I just thought, you know, it should have been a blatant 2.”

For his part, Sixers coach Doc Rivers, a product from another era of the sport who featured more physical play than today’s play, said he didn’t think either the other of those games should have been called at all.

His only worry at the time was that Embiid, who fell from several feet on his back and twisted on the ground in pain, was fine after his fall. And while Embiid didn’t move as well after the game, he was able 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 game and they had to call the blatant I guess.

“You know, all the blatant tonight… you can get a blatant easy these days. But that fall was tough, and there was some concern there, for sure. The fact that Joel continued, clearly he wasn’t the same after that in terms of his movement. And we knew that a bit, and we used him a lot in pick and roll because of that. “

Embiid, who has been on the occasional injury report recently with a back pain that kept him from playing a game or two, said he won’t know how he reacts until he wakes up in the morning, but that he felt this limit him during the match.

He said part of Philadelphia’s downstroke collapse, which saw the Lakers score 13 straight points to erase the Sixers’ 12-point lead with three minutes remaining and take a lead of 106-105 with 11.2 seconds left, was in part because of his limiting back. its movement.

“It’s on me,” Embiid said of Philadelphia’s late-game slide. “I missed a few shots. I just didn’t have the legs. Not because I was tired, which I wasn’t, but my back just didn’t allow me to dominate as I was. did it in the fourth quarter. ” I missed a few shots, we made a few mistakes in defense, they made a few 3s, and just like that, they went up 1. “

But just when it looked like the ongoing questions about the Sixers and their inability to close the stretch would come back to haunt Philadelphia once again, the Sixers were bailed out with a formidable shot from Tobias Harris, who landed a pass, dribbled on the elbow against Lakers guard Alex Caruso and rose to bury what turned out to be the winning jumper with 3.0 seconds remaining.

“I’m a person that I visualize myself in these places, so when the opportunity presented itself … it’s a plan that I work on over and over again, but in those times, I’m just confident enough to let it go and be okay with the result.

“Tonight it went well.”

It’s a shot that also made the Sixers laugh at those late-game weaknesses, an extent that almost ruined what had been an incredibly impressive performance by the hosts in the opening 45 minutes against the defending champions of the NBA said Harris his team had seen. like a measuring stick given to the opponent.

“I would say a bit of both,” said Harris, who finished with 22 points, when asked if he would focus more on being happy to have hit the winner or being frustrated. by the late Philadelphia sloppy play. “I would say there is always growth in everything. So tonight’s win is a great win for us against a great team, but, at the same time, we know we could be better, especially in the fourth. quarter.”