DIVIDING WHINE
Sixers say Knicks 'cry' over calls as physical play rams up rancor
PHILADELPHIA — As a Sixers player accused the Knicks of crying, Tom Thibodeau said his team embraces physical basketball but again took digs at the lack of consistency in officiating. “I’m not a journalist but if I were a journalist I’d write a couple things,” Thibodeau said. “I think the consistency — look at that play and then look at the Josh Hart play in Chicago. That’s my thing.” Thibodeau was referencing Hart getting a Flagrant-2 ejection for kicking Bulls player Javonte Green at the end of the regular season, which contrasted Joel Embiid only being issued a Flagrant-1 penalty after purposefully dragging down Mitchell Robinson in Thursday’s Game 3. It was part of an antic-laden first half filled with borderline dirty plays from the Sixers, which transitioned to a dominant second half from Embiid — a second half that wouldn’t have been possible if he were ejected.
“The No. 1 job of the official is to control and manage the game,” Thibodeau said. “So when there’s stuff like that going on, that’s their job. “But we don’t mind physical.” The Knicks indeed built an identity around playing hard and rebounding, but the Sixers won the battle of the rebounds in Game 3, 36-32, and beat New York in Philly for the first time this season.
Then the players watched Friday’s playoff NBA contests, which included three ejections — including a Flagrant 2 on Phoenix’s Josh Okogie for a foul that appeared less intentional than Embiid’s Flagrant 1.
“There’s a difference between, I think, playoff basketball and physicality, and then crossing that line. And I think multiple times, that line was a little bit blurred,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who was slapped by Philadelphia’s Kyle Lowry in Game 3. “You saw it across the league [Friday]. A couple guys got ejected. Refs are trying to put a stop to that. We know it was gonna be a physical battle. We know it’s gonna be another one [Sunday]. We’re not a dirty team. We’re here to play ball. And our identity is playing physical, but we’re not here to be dirty or do anything like that. We’re here to play ball and get a win.”
Sixers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. indicated Saturday the Knicks are just whining and
They’re going to hit, then we hit back, and then they cry and vice versa or whatever the case may be. — Sixers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (right)
easy to ignore. The roles were reversed on the officiating complaints after Game 2, when the Sixers were listing grievances to the NBA mostly about the lack of calls.
“They’re going to hit, then we hit back, and then they cry and vice versa or whatever the case may be,” Oubre said. “Let’s just hoop, let’s go out there and play hard. Nobody [is going to] fight. This ain’t the WWE, so at the end of the day, stand on the stuff that y’all say and we’ll see tomorrow how they react.”
Campaigning through the media for a more favorable whistle — and, in some instances, just a fair whistle — is hardly new to playoff basketball. And on Saturday, Thibodeau pointed to the free-throw discrepancy in Game 3, which favored the Sixers, 33-19. He also said to look at the screens set by Philadelphia.
Outside the lines, the series has become a war over the whistles. An NBA source said Embiid’s status as a superstar played a role in not ejecting him from a playoff game. But that also wouldn’t be a new phenomenon. The NBA is a business above all else.
“If it’s tight, it has to be tight both ways,” Thibodeau said. “And so you can’t say one guy is drawing fouls and the other guy is not. And then you go through the tape and you say, ‘C’mon, c’mon.’
“It is what it is. That’s gone. Every game is different. Come out for this game and be ready to roll.”