Joel Embiid added to a physical start between the Knicks and 76ers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with a flagrant foul Thursday night, and ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins felt it should have lead to expulsion.
With 4:30 left in the first quarter, Embiid fell to the court at the Wells Fargo Center after trying to take over as OG Anunoby was driving. When Anunoby made a pass to Robinson, the 76ers star grabbed the Knicks center’s leg and tried to trip him.
Embiid was booked for a flagrant 1 foul and Robinson missed both free throws to keep the Knicks’ lead at 18-15.
“Embiid should have been ejected,” Perkins wrote in an article on. “It was stupidity. He could have seriously injured this man.
The Empire State Building’s X count also weighed on the streak, write in a post that “Joel Embiid was banned from the Empire State Building.”
Had Embiid been knocked out, it would have only made Philadelphia’s quest to win Game 3 and cut its series deficit to 2-1 even more daunting.
Embiid, who was a decision made before Game 2 due to a knee injury that resurfaced in the series opener, had combined to score 63 points in the two games of the series, and the center and Tyrese Maxey — the other 76ers star who also nearly missed Game 2 while dealing with an illness — combined to score 69 points Monday, allowing Philadelphia to even the series before the Knicks erased a five-point deficit in a stunning finish.
Embiid grabbed his leg. Screenshot via X/@KnicksMuse
Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer rebounded with 27 seconds left to bring the Knicks within two, and after Josh Hart stole the ball from Maxey on the ensuing entry sequence, Donte DiVincenzo converted a 3 – after his initial miss with the mark once Isaiah Hartenstein caught it. an offensive rebound – to take the lead.
This essentially made Game 3 a must-win for the 76ers.
Also in the first half, Kyle Lowry hit DiVincenzo in the face as he attempted a layup and was also called for a flagrant foul.
The Knicks led the 76ers at halftime, 58-55, behind Brunson’s 17 points, Anunoby’s 11 and Hartenstein’s eight.
Embiid led Philadelphia with 17 points, while Maxey added 11.
New York Post
