NBA Playoffs: Joel Embiid blames referees for Sixers' loss to Knicks in Game 2

Joel Embiid was fuming at the referees as the Philadelphia 76ers blew a five-point lead in the final seconds of Game 2 against the New York Knicks. According to the big man, the officiating prevented the Sixers from getting the win.

“Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout,” Embiid said, via Sixers Wire. “Myself included. Nico (Batum), coach on the sideline, but they didn’t give it to us, but forget about a timeout. There’s a bunch of fouls—like I said, that’s (expletive) unacceptable.”

76ers head coach Nick Nurse apparently called for a timeout before the sequence that led to the Knicks’ unbelievable comeback, but his request was not granted. Speaking to the media, Embiid defended Tyrese Maxey, who lost the ball in the play that led to back-to-back threes.

“He did his job. That’s on the league. That’s on the NBA. That’s on the freaking referees,” Embiid said. “I hate to put the game on them, but I’m sure the 2-minute report is gonna come out and we’re gonna see what happened, but like I said, that’s unacceptable. No, that’s not on him. That’s not on any of us. We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds and for that to happen up 4? That’s not OK.”

Head coach Nick Nurse of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts toward the referee during the second half against the New York Knicks in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2024 in New York City.

76ers coach Nick Nurse echoes Embiid’s sentiment

In his post-match presser, Nurse shared his side of the story, echoing Embiid‘s sentiment about the officiating. According to the Sixers head coach, the referees heard his request for a timeout but overlooked it.

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“The first thing is, obviously, they score, we take a look at getting it in quick, we don’t get it in quick. I call timeout. Referee looked right at me, ignored me, went into Tyrese, I called timeout again, then the melee started, and yeah. I mean, I don’t know. I guess I gotta run onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but we needed a timeout there to advance it. That would’ve been good, but couldn’t get it,” Nurse said.

“There was no time to talk about it. You can ask him if you want to. See if he saw me calling timeout. I just watched the film just to make sure. I’m clearly calling timeout. I didn’t see if he looked at me in the film, but I can see me clearly calling timeout twice.”

Embiid warns the Knicks

The series now heads to Philly with the Knicks leading 2-0, putting the Sixers in a tough spot to make the next round. Even so, Embiid looks extremely confident his team will end up getting the job done.

“We should be 2-0 so we’re good,” Embiid said. “We’re gonna win this series. We’re gonna win this. We know what we gotta fix. We did a better job today so we’re gonna fix it, but we’re the better team. We’re gonna keep fighting.”

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The 76ers welcome the Knicks to Wells Fargo Center on Thursday for the third game of the series, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday, April 28. Only time will tell whether a Game 5 in New York on Apr. 30 will be necessary.