PHILADELPHIA — The deadline for the Sixers to file an official grievance with the NBA about the officiating passed, but their gripes about it led to an overwhelming free-throw disparity in their favor in their Game 3 win over the Knicks.
The Sixers attempted 33 free throws — 14 more than the Knicks did — including a 19-for-21 night from the stripe by Joel Embiid in their 125-114 victory.
“I’ll look at it again, and I’ll send my clips in like I do every game and they’ll say, ‘marginal contact,’ and then we’ll have marginal contact on Embiid and he’ll be at the line 21 times,” Tom Thibodeau said. “So that’s the way it works.”
The NBA acknowledged one day after the Knicks’ frantic Game 2 victory that Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson should have been called for fouls on Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey ahead of Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer that put the Knicks ahead with 13 seconds to go.
The Sixers threatened to file a grievance with the league, and coach Nick Nurse railed against not being granted timeouts in that sequence, which the league also confirmed should have been given.
“We knew what Game 3 was going to be. Come on, now. We knew, especially how Game 2 ended,” Hart said. “We knew what it was going to be. Am I surprised? Not at all. At the end of the day, now we’ve just got to move on.”
Embiid could have been ejected for a flagrant foul called against him for grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s leg on a dunk attempt in the first quarter.
He also was called for an offensive foul when he kneed Isaiah Hartenstein in the groin as he moved off the ball.
When asked what he thought about Embiid’s flagrant foul, Thibodeau responded, “Which one? The one they called or the one they didn’t call?