CAMDEN, N.J. — The flagrant foul that Joel Embiid committed against Mitchell Robinson in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 3 win over the New York Knicks has been and will continue to be a major point of controversy.
Embiid pulling Robinson’s legs down as he went up for a dunk earned him a flagrant 1 foul, though it would have been well within the officials’ rights to upgrade it and eject the Sixers star. He said after the game, in which he scored a playoff career-high 50 points in a pivotal win, that he was simply trying to make sure Robinson didn’t fall on him.
When asked about the play and what he thought of the Knicks calling it a “dirty” play after the 76ers’ practice on Saturday, Kelly Oubre Jr. said that he doesn’t believe it was.
“I’ve seen that happen before, though, and I was on the other end of it,” he said. “So at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s dirty, man. Jo has to protect himself like he said. But at the end of the day, I’m not gonna comment on what they’re commenting on ’cause at the end of the day, they’re gonna hit and then we hit back and then they cry and then vice versa, whatever the case may be.
“It’s like, let’s just hoop. Let’s go out there and play hard,” the 76ers’ wing continued. “Nobody finna fight. This ain’t WWE. At the end of the day, stand on the stuff that y’all say. So we’ll see tomorrow how they react.”
The play Oubre is referring to occurred in March when Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo wrapped his legs up and brought him to the ground with some help from a push by Isaiah Hartenstein.
After that game, Oubre said that he laughed the play off because no one wants to actually fight. He struck a similar tune on this play, too. The physicality has been apparent between both teams throughout this series, a product of their play styles and division rivalry. It’s only going to go up from here.
Nick Nurse chalked up the Embiid-Robinson incident to the physicality of the playoffs.
“I think it’s a physical series,” the 76ers head coach said. “I think it’s historically a big series from the fan bases to the players to the cities to everything. I think there’s been all kinds of physical plays both ways. I think it’ll continue to be that way. I think it’s playoff basketball.”
Robinson was okay after getting tripped up by Embiid but sprained his left ankle later in the game and did not participate in practice on Saturday. Game 4 is scheduled to tip off at 1:00 PM EST on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.
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