The Philadelphia 76ers were able to come away with a 112-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road as they were able to officially clinch a playoff spot for the fifth straight season. The Sixers were able to get big games out of Joel Embiid and James Harden in order to get the job done.
Embiid had 44 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks and Harden had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The big fella shot 17-for-20 from the foul line and Harden shot 11-for-12 from the line. The Sixers shot 42 free throws compared to 31 for the Cavs and coach J.B. Bickerstaff was upset about it.
Per ESPN, Bickerstaff called out the officiating:
“That game was taken from us,” Bickerstaff said. “We deserved to win it.”
“The one thing you can’t defend is the free throw line, and that’s absurd,” Bickerstaff said, referring to the Sixers’ 42 attempted foul shots (35 of which they made). “Our guys deserved way better than they got tonight.”
“They’re great players, and they understand how to play through the rules,” he said of Philly’s All-Stars. “They know how to manipulate the rules. This is no knock or disrespect to those guys. But the game has to be consistent on both ends of the floor. We were searching for that consistency, and we never found it.”
This isn’t the first time an opposing coach called out Philadelphia’s stars for their free throws. Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue did something similar in March.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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