Joel Embiid rips officials after Game 2, guarantees Sixers beat Knicks

Apr 20, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (12) drives past New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) in the fourth quarter in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers had Game 2 in their grasp. Tyrese Maxey drilled a 3-pointer to put Philadelphia up 100-96 to silence Madison Square Garden and it appeared that the Sixers would even the series up.

Then, disaster struck. Jalen Brunson got a friendly roll on a side-step triple to make it 101-99 with 27.1 seconds left. The Sixers then had trouble inbounding the ball before getting it into Tyrese Maxey. The Knicks swarmed Maxey which led to a turnover.

Josh Hart picked up the loose ball for New York and found Donte DiVincenzo for an open triple which missed. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to DiVincenzo for another triple to give the Knicks a 102-101 lead with 13.0 seconds left.

The Knicks got a stop on Maxey and took Game 2 by a score of 104-101. It was a wild sequence for New York to win the game and Joel Embiid went after the officials after the loss.

“Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout,” a frustrated Embiid said. “Myself included. Nico (Batum), coach on the sideline, but they didn’t give it to us, but forget about a timeout. There’s a bunch of fouls—like I said, that’s (expletive) unacceptable.”

It appeared that coach Nick Nurse was calling a timeout in front of the official when Maxey was stuck in the corner. The officials did not grant him and the Sixers that timeout and then the wild sequence ensued.

When asked if he has to say anything to Maxey about the play, Embiid scoffed.

“He did his job,” Embiid stated. “That’s on the league. That’s on the NBA. That’s on the freaking referees. I hate to put the game on them, but I’m sure the 2-minute report is gonna come out and we’re gonna see what happened, but like I said, that’s unacceptable. No, that’s not on him. That’s not on any of us. We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds and for that to happen up 4? That’s not OK.”

The fifth double-bang in Mike Breen history belongs to Donte Divincenzo.

The craziest finish in Knicks history. pic.twitter.com/08bRjE9DU5

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) April 23, 2024

The Sixers now head back to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the series, but Embiid remains extremely confident that his team will beat the Knicks.

“We should be 2-0 so we’re good,” he said confidently. “We’re gonna win this series. We’re gonna win this. We know what we gotta fix. We did a better job today so we’re gonna fix it, but we’re the better team. We’re gonna keep fighting.”

Game 3 is on Thursday as the series now shifts to the Wells Fargo Center.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Joel Embiid rips officials after Game 2, guarantees Sixers beat Knicks