On Sunday afternoon, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers stepped onto the Wells Fargo Center hardwood floor to take on Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in Game 4 of their eastern conference first round postseason matchup. The Knicks won the first two games in Madison Square Garden, both in close fashion, while Philadelphia bounced back to get their first win of the series on Thursday courtesy of a red-hot shooting third quarter, making Sunday’s Game 4 a chance to tie things up heading back up the highway two hours to New York City.
Early on in the game on Sunday, 76ers guard Kyle Lowry drew a controversial foul call to earn himself three free throws. He was being defended by Jalen Brunson at the time and saw Brunson go down, then intentionally tripped himself over Brunson and launched the ball at the backboard, drawing a whistle.
Needless to say, many fans were confused that the flop was enough to draw a foul call, particularly in an NBA playoff game.
“Lowry showing Brunson and Embiid who the OG Foul grifter really is,” wrote one user on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter, referencing the storied history of both Joel Embiid and Jalen Brunson as floppers in their own right.
“Absolutely NOT a foul under NBA rules and guidance,” wrote another.
Some noted that on the play, it was actually Embiid who appeared to first trip Brunson, before Brunson launched himself over Lowry.
“Embiid trips Brunson, Lowry looks down at Brunson then flops into him. 3 fts!!” wrote another user.
A controversial series
The Knicks vs 76ers first round series has become the new poster child for the league wide officiating problem that has delegitimized the NBA product over the years. During Monday evening’s Game 2 of the series, the 76ers were irate about the play that happened at the very end of that game.
With Philadelphia leading by five, Jalen Brunson hit a three point field goal with around twenty seconds to play to cut the lead to two. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Lowry tried to pass the ball to his teammate Tyrese Maxey, who appeared to be fouled on at least three different occasions, but no foul was called. Instead, the play resulted in a turnover, which ended up in a three pointer for Donte DiVincenzo of the Knicks which ultimately ended up winning the game for New York.
Then, during Thursday’s Game 3, Embiid quite obviously intentionally grabbed the ankles of Mitchell Robinson, sending him to the floor in what could only be fairly categorized as a dirty play. Despite this, the play only resulted in a Flagrant Foul penalty one, with many fans speculating that if it had any player on planet earth not named Joel Embiid, it would have been a flagrant two.
Needless to say, the NBA could certainly use a game in this series that goes by without an officiating controversy, but unfortunately, they didn’t get that on Sunday.
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