PHILADELPHIA–Round 1 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors is getting chippy and getting physical very quick. There has also been complaining on the side of Toronto when it comes to the foul disparity out on the floor.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse was upset that Joel Embiid got away with a few elbows in Game 1 and he even doubled down on those comments saying the officials need to have the guts to review those plays from Embiid.
To start Game 2, Embiid went right back at it as he scored 19 points in the first quarter, shot 11-for-12 from the free-throw line, and he finished with 31 points in a 112-97 win in Game 2.
Afterward, Embiid and Nurse looked like they were exchanging some words and the big fella got very candid after the game when discussing his conversation with Nurse.
“He’s a great coach, obviously’ said Embiid. “What he’s been able to accomplish and I’ve always been a big fan, but I told him, respectfully, to stop (expletive) about calls because I saw what he said last game. If you’re gonna triple-team somebody all game, they’re bound to get to the free-throw line or if you’re gonna push them off, and try to hold them off and all that stuff, they’re bound to get to the free-throw line so I feel like every foul was legit and probably should have been more, honestly.”
Joel Embiid and Nick Nurse had words for each other at the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/6JihHL5d9A
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2022
On the night, Embiid finished 12-for-14 from the line. Nurse is not the first coach to complain about the calls he gets down low. Other coaches have done so as well and Embiid responded to them as well.
“I got a lot of respect for all these coaches, I feel like they have self-awareness, but when this type of stuff is whether the referees to not call it anymore or just to motivate their guys to go out and play better and really put that in the referees’ hands to not call it,” said the big fella. “When the fouls are obvious as they were tonight, they put me on the floor a few times, and, to me, this is where it gets interesting for me because I’m like ‘Well cool, I’m gonna come back with more power’.”
Embiid used the crying from the Raptors as motivation to want to come back a bit harder in order to get what he needs at the rim.
“I think that’s why part of the reason why I got a few offensive fouls tonight too because I was like ‘Well, if you’re gonna be physical, I’m gonna come back with more power and make you foul me and make it more obvious if the refs don’t wanna call it’,” he said. “I think it’s all about having self-awareness and I think they just do because they have to, but they don’t actually believe it. If you watch the clips, every single foul is a foul.”
It will be interesting to see how things are called in Game 3 on Wednesday in Toronto.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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