PHILADELPHIA — The deadline for the Sixers to formally file a complaint with the NBA about officiating has passed, but their dissatisfaction with it led to an overwhelming free throw margin in their Game 3 victory over the Knicks.
The Sixers attempted 33 free throws, 14 more than the Knicks, including Joel Embiid’s 19-of-21 from the stripe in the 125-114 win.
“If you look at it again and send out the clip like a normal game, they’ll say ‘marginal contact,’ and Embiid will have marginal contact and he’ll be on the game floor.” He lined up 21 times. “I did,” Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s how it works.”
A day after the Knicks’ blowout Game 2 victory, the NBA announced that Josh Hart and Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey had been charged with a foul before Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer to lead the Knicks with 13 seconds left. Jalen Brunson admitted he should have been called.
The Sixers threatened to file a complaint with the league, and coach Nick Nurse slammed the disallowed timeout in that sequence, although the league acknowledged it should have been granted.
“We knew how Game 3 was going to go. Come on, come on. We especially knew how Game 2 ended,” Hart said. “We knew how it would go. Am I surprised? Not at all. At the end of the day, we have no choice but to move forward.”
Embiid could have been ejected for a flagrant foul for grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s leg during a dunk attempt in the first quarter.
He was also called for an offensive foul when he kneed Isaiah Hartenstein in the groin while off the ball.
When asked what he thought about Embiid’s flagrant foul, Thibodeau said: Who called, or who didn’t?
