Nick Nurse

Sixers Not Considering Replacing Nick Nurse, Daryl Morey

November 19th, 2024 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite their NBA-worst 2-11 record, the Sixers haven’t had any internal discussions about the possibility of replacing head coach Nick Nurse or president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, multiple sources tell Sam Amick, David Aldridge, and Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Nurse, who won a title with the Raptors in 2019, was hired by Philadelphia during the 2023 offseason to replace Doc Rivers. He led the team to a 47-35 regular season record last season, which was only good for a play-in spot. The 76ers ultimately secured the No. 7 seed and fell in the first round of the playoffs to the No. 2 Knicks.

The slow start this fall has dropped Nurse’s overall regular season record with the team to 49-46 (.516).

Morey was named the Sixers’ president of basketball operations in November 2020. The club has won at least 47 games in every season since then, but has never advanced beyond the second round of the postseason.

Morey essentially reset the roster this past offseason around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but injuries have limited the availability of Philadelphia’s stars – Embiid, Maxey, and Paul George – and the new-look supporting cast has struggled.

The expectation going forward, Amick, Aldridge, and Weiss say, is that everyone in the organization, including Nurse and Morey, will “take a look in the mirror and see what role they have in making the team better.”

The Athletic’s story also corroborates many of the details about Monday’s team meeting reported earlier today by Shams Charania of ESPN, including Maxey calling out Embiid for being consistently late to team activities.

Team and league sources tell The Athletic that Maxey stressed the need for Embiid to set a better example as the Sixers’ leader, given his importance to the program, essentially telling the former MVP, “Joel, you know I love you. But it starts with you, and your habits.” Embiid “mostly agreed” with Maxey’s message, per Amick, Aldridge, and Weiss.

While that discussion between Maxey and Embiid was an important aspect of the meeting, there was also a focus on holding the rest of the roster accountable, according to The Athletic’s trio. The contributions from rookie Jared McCain have been a pleasant surprise during the season’s first month, but many of the team’s other role players – including offseason veteran additions like Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson – have been ineffective.

Sixers Held Team Meeting Following Monday’s Loss

November 19th, 2024 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

After falling to 2-11 with a 106-89 loss in Miami on Monday, the Sixers held a post-game team meeting, head coach Nick Nurse admitted to reporters, including Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nurse and the Sixers weren’t available to speak to the media until more than an hour after the game ended.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry initiated the meeting, which sources described to ESPN as a “much-needed heart-to-heart and a call to action and urgency.” Nurse referred to the meeting as player- and coach-driven and Charania’s report states that both players and coaches “held each other accountable” and took responsibility for the 76ers’ poor start this fall.

Fifth-year guard Tyrese Maxey – whose leadership is highly valued within the organization, per Charania – called out star center Joel Embiid during the meeting, sources tell ESPN. Maxey reportedly challenged Embiid to make an effort to show up on time for team activities, suggesting that the big man’s tendency to be late “for everything” has a negative ripple effect on the rest of the locker room.

“Tyrese loves Big Fella’, but this is the elephant in the room,” a source told Charania, who says Maxey and Embiid are close friends and are comfortable holding one another accountable.

Here’s more on the Sixers and Monday’s post-game meeting:

While Embiid was accepting of the messages conveyed to him in the meeting, sources tell Charania that the former MVP is sometimes confused about what the 76ers are attempting to execute on the court.
Sixers players told Nurse that they want to be coached harder, while the coaches indicated to the players that they want them to practice with more “purpose and attention to detail,” Charania writes.
Sources tell ESPN that Maxey, who has been out since November 6 due to a hamstring strain, is expected to return to action at some point this week — that will likely happen on Wednesday (in Memphis) or Friday (vs. Brooklyn). Assuming Embiid and Paul George are available, Maxey’s return will mark the first time that Philadelphia’s new “big three” have played together this season.
Embiid, who played through an illness on Monday after initially being listed as doubtful, had expressed coming into this season that his goal was to “empower” his teammates rather than looking to dominate games himself. However, he admitted after Monday’s loss that he may need to be more assertive, given the early-season hole the team has dug itself. “The next couple games, I’m probably going to try to be more aggressive, as far as doing more,” Embiid said, per Mizell. “… It’s all about finding the right balance of it: when to be aggressive, when to set up guys, and when to let everybody do their thing.”

Sixers Fined $100K For Statements About Embiid

October 29th, 2024 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have been fined $100K by the NBA for violating league rules, including its player participation policy, according to a press release.

Philadelphia had been the subject of a league investigation after holding Joel Embiid out of games during the first week of the season for what the team dubbed “left knee injury management.”

According to today’s announcement from the NBA, the 76ers weren’t fined for resting Embiid, but for public statements that club representatives – including general manager Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse – made about his status.

Nurse told reporters last week that Embiid hadn’t suffered any setbacks after injuring his left knee last season and suggested that the star center’s absence during the first few days of the season was part of the team’s plan for managing his workload.

“The league’s investigation also confirmed that Embiid has been unable to play in the 76ers’ regular season games this season due to a left knee condition, and therefore his games missed have not violated the Player Participation Policy,” the NBA’s statement reads.

While a team is considered to have violated the player participation policy and is subject to a fine for holding a healthy player out of nationally televised game (like last Wednesday’s Sixers/Bucks contest), a team can also be fined for inconsistent statements that don’t accurately represent a player’s health. The NBA made this ruling based on the latter rule, not the former.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, a $100K fine is the standard for an initial violation of the player participation policy. Those fines would escalate for subsequent violations, beginning with a $250K penalty for the second strike.

Sixers Notes: Gordon, Martin, Embiid, George, Nurse

October 29th, 2024 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Tyrese Maxey led the way in the Sixers‘ overtime win over Indiana on Sunday, with a game-high 45 points in his 48 minutes of action. But the team likely wouldn’t have gotten its first victory of the season if not for a pair of offseason additions, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who highlights the contributions of Eric Gordon and Caleb Martin.

Gordon scored 15 points and was a plus-17 in 32 minutes off the bench, while Martin had a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) in 37 minutes.

Joel Embiid and Paul George will be back in the 76ers’ lineup at some point, but it won’t happen on Wednesday vs. Detroit. As Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports tweets, while the two stars participated in portions of practice on Tuesday, they’ve been ruled out for tomorrow’s game and will be reevaluated again later this week.

With or without those stars healthy, the club will need major contributions from its role players, Pompey writes. Sunday’s win showed what that could look like, and Gordon is confident that Philadelphia’s supporting cast will only improve as the season progresses.

“We are going to continue to get better,” Gordon said. “This is the worst, you know? You can never panic in this league. There’s too many games, an 82-game season. It’s too early. And we’re going to continue to get better and better. We’ve got guys with great attitudes who are wanting to win.”

Here’s more on the Sixers:

No team brought back fewer players from last season’s roster (seven) than the 76ers. That – along with Embiid’s and George’s absences – has created an early-season challenge for head coach Nick Nurse, who is still getting accustomed to his new-look squad and determining the strengths and weaknesses of certain lineups, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’ve got to learn what’s going on with this team,” Nurse said during Sunday’s post-game media session. “… I’m trying to learn what looks good, and what doesn’t.”
Embiid hasn’t suited up for a game yet this fall, but he’s already been hit with his first technical foul of the season. According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link), the league announced on Monday that Embiid was assessed a technical for waving a towel on the bench while Andrew Nembhard was shooting free throws on Sunday.
Patrick McCaw, Marcus Bagley, and Isaiah Mobley are among the notable names on the training camp roster announced on Monday (via Twitter) by the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate. McCaw won three NBA championships with Golden State and Toronto during the first three years of his playing career, while Bagley and Mobley are the brothers of established NBA players (Marvin Bagley III and Evan Mobley).

Sixers Notes: Drummond, Embiid, George, Nurse, Lowry, Yabusele

October 25th, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Andre Drummond knew he wouldn’t be the full-time starter when he signed with the Sixers this summer, but figured there would be plenty of chances to start given Joel Embiid‘s injury history and the need to have him ready for the playoffs. The first opportunity came Wednesday, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Drummond didn’t find out until Tuesday that Embiid would be sitting out the game, and he responded with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes.

“It’s going to be a very fun year,” Drummond said. “I feel I got drafted again, like I’m the new kid on the block, and I get to showcase myself all over again.”

Drummond played a reserve role in Chicago the past two seasons and was one of the most productive backup big men in the league. He has experience playing behind Embiid, spending 49 games with Philadelphia during the 2021/22 season.

“We already know, once [Embiid] comes back, what type of offense we’re going to play,” Drummond said. “But we’ve got to have a difference between he and I when we’re out there, different styles of play. … Obviously, when [Embiid is] healthy, we need him the entire year. But being able to step up whenever he does have those moments of rest and needs to sit out, knowing that there won’t be any drop-off.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

Embiid and Paul George will miss at least the first three games of the season, but coach Nick Nurse remains optimistic about their progress, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. They were limited participants in Thursday’s practice, although neither of them scrimmaged, which the team would prefer to see before clearing them to play. “I think they are improving and making strides,” Nurse said. “They were in all of the beginning basic stuff and some kind of live-ish drills. The half-court for a little bit as well. So it looked like they are progressing.”
Tonight will mark Nurse’s third trip to Toronto since taking over the Sixers, and he told Pompey that it’s still a special experience to return to the city where he coached for 10 years. “It’s probably one of the more interesting stops along the season for me, for sure,” Nurse said. “I’ve got to go try to figure out how to win a game.”
Toronto is also a significant spot for Kyle Lowry, who was one of the city’s most beloved players during his nine seasons with the Raptors. He told Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) that it would mean “the world” to him to someday have his number retired in Toronto.
Guerschon Yabusele, who signed with Philadelphia this summer after spending five years overseas, doesn’t believe there’s a gigantic gap between the NBA and the EuroLeague, relays Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “It is too early to say because I have only played one game, but I always say that some of the best EuroLeague teams can compete with some NBA teams, for sure,” Yabusele said. “I am not saying the best teams [in the NBA]. … They are two different leagues. Being able to play for Real Madrid for three years and competing in those arenas against other teams and players, I gained a lot of experience. And feeling how it is on the court playing against tough teams helped a lot.”

Sixers Notes: Jackson, Martin, Embiid, Gold Medalist

August 10th, 2024 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Reggie Jackson didn’t have any concerns about joining a Sixers roster that already has plenty of point guards, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jackson signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia in late July, shortly after agreeing to a buyout with Charlotte, making him the latest lead guard on a team with Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, first-round pick Jared McCain and two-way player Jeff Dowtin. Jackson has confidence that coach Nick Nurse will find playing time for everyone.

“Since he was with the Raptors and became a head coach, kind of seeing how his team played, it was very interesting,” Jackson said. “Obviously, they played Lowry and [point guard] Fred VanVleet … how well they played together. They played long lineups where you had [forwards] Kawhi [Leonard], you had Pascal [Siakam], you had [Chris] Boucher. Shoot, he played [post players] Serge [Ibaka] and [Marc] Gasol at times together.”

Jackson is eager to see what Nurse can unlock in his game as he gets ready to join his sixth NBA team. He adds that he’s not bothered by the instability of being traded and then waived during the offseason.

“My circle always keeps me grounded. Just the love of the game of all facets and being able to be a military kid,” Jackson said of growing up with a father who was an Air Force officer. “Being a military kid prepared me for this life. Always moving around, always trying to figure it out, find ways to acclimate yourself to a new situation. Just trying to find a way to be effective.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

Caleb Martin grew up in North Carolina, but he feels like he can identify with the work ethic in Philadelphia, Pompey adds in a separate story. The 28-year-old forward could be in contention for a starting spot after leaving Miami to join the Sixers in free agency. “The feel you get from the fans is just kind of hard-nosed, blue-collar, scrappy, do-whatever-you-can [attitude], and that’s what this kind of crowd and environment feeds off of,” Martin said. “And I think I’m that type of player that can definitely get the crowd going and make plays like that and try to make as many plays as I can and just embrace everything that comes with it. So I’m excited.”
After being criticized early in his Olympics experience, Joel Embiid came through when Team USA needed him the most, notes Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid was part of a fourth quarter comeback against Serbia in the semifinals, helping to erase an eight-point deficit when he returned to the game with 7:19 remaining. Sielski sees it as an indication that Embiid may someday be able to lead the Sixers to playoff success.
Embiid has become the first American to win an Olympic gold medal while playing for the Sixers, Pompey tweets. The closest had been Andre Iguodala, who was traded to Denver during the 2012 Olympics, and Charles Barkley, who was sent to Phoenix two months prior to the 1992 Games.

Sixers’ Morey Vows To Shake Up Roster In “Big” Offseason

May 6th, 2024 at 7:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed during a Monday press conference that he’ll be busy reworking his roster this summer, Dan Gelston of The Associated Press reports.

“We’re not going to have continuity,” Morey said. “We’ll have continuity with our stars and our head coach but we’re going to have a lot of changes this season.”

Morey feels the heat to build a championship roster around his two stars.

“This offseason’s a big one,” Morey said. “I owe it to the fans, to ownership, to everybody, to get this team in a place where we’re competing for championships. We obviously didn’t achieve it this year.”

Joel Embiid is the only two player with a guaranteed contract beyond this season. Tyrese Maxey will be a restricted free agent and is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract.

Beyond that, everything is up for grabs. Morey could have $65MM in cap space to wheel and deal, along with signing free agents. He’s not against signing an aging star, such as Paul George, if one becomes available in the free agent market.

“You have to factor in the age,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the window where we have to win now. We’re mostly focused on getting the best players that fit with Joel and Tyrese.”

Morey has some regrets regarding this season, namely that he didn’t have a deep enough roster. The Sixers slid down the standings when Embiid was sidelined for two months after undergoing knee surgery. He wasn’t close to 100% in the postseason when Philadelphia lost to New York in the opening round.

“It can’t be a big focus, how we play without him. We know that team can’t win a championship,” Morey said. “It’s really, how do we manage through it better? I felt like, on me, the depth wasn’t quite there when he was out to win at the level we wanted to win at.”

Here are some other notable tidbits from Morey’s press conference:

His top priority is to find a wing “who can play and deliver at a high level in the playoffs,” Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets.
Coach Nick Nurse will be retained. Reserves Paul Reed and Ricky Council IV are also expected to be back, even though their salaries are not guaranteed, Vorkunov adds.
Though he hasn’t ruled out re-signing Buddy Hield, who was acquired from Indiana at the trade deadline, Morey admitted that “the fit was less good than I thought,” per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). Hield played sparingly in the first round until Game 6, when he scored 20 points in 21 minutes.
Maxey’s performances during the regular season and playoffs proved to Morey that he can be the second-best player on a title team, Vorkunov relays in another tweet. “That belief went from high to we’re certain at this point that he can do that,” he said.

Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Nurse, Harris

May 1st, 2024 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

After winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for 2023/24 last week, Tyrese Maxey capped a memorable April with the biggest game of his four-year NBA career on Tuesday. The star guard scored 46 points in 52 minutes, including seven in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force the game into overtime, leading the Sixers to a Game 5 victory that kept their season alive.

“What was going through my mind was trying to survive,” Maxey said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Our season is on the line. I trust my work. I trust what I’ve done all my life, and I just tried to get to a spot, raise up and knock that shot down.”

The Sixers’ other star, Joel Embiid, had a triple-double in Tuesday’s victory, racking up 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Embiid, who is dealing with a sore knee, a case of Bell’s palsy, and a migraine that forced him to miss Tuesday morning’s shootaround, clearly wasn’t operating at full strength and made just 7-of-19 shots from the field. Last season’s MVP said after the game that he appreciated Maxey coming through when the club needed him most.

“Tonight, obviously based on the circumstances and knowing what was needed, based on what was happening and me not being able to be myself, he just had to do it,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “And he did it. That’s why he is such an amazing basketball player.”

Here’s more on the Sixers, who now trail the Knicks 3-2 in their first-round series:

Embiid has become public enemy number one among Knicks fans during the first round, especially following a physical Game 3 performance in which he was accused of committing a “dirty” foul on opposing center Mitchell Robinson. However, the Sixers star had nothing but praise for the New York faithful after being on the receiving end of their vitriol in Game 5, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It’s not hostile. I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years. I just love New York,” Embiid said. “And then the (Knicks) fans, when you play against a team they’re always gonna pick that guy. And they seem to have picked me, which is fine. I love it. If I gotta be the punching bag and keep hearing a lot of ‘F Embiid,’ that’s ok. I love it.”
Nick Nurse become the second NBA head coach to suffer an injury during the postseason, though it doesn’t sound as if his issue is as serious as Chris Finch‘s patellar tendon tear, which required surgery. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Nurse injured a finger during Tuesday’s game when he slammed his hand in frustration over a call. It’s unclear if he broke or sprained the finger, but the 76ers’ coach couldn’t grip a marker to draw up plays during the second half, Begley adds.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that it might be a good idea to bring struggling forward Tobias Harris off the bench after he scored no more than 10 points in any of the series’ first four games. However, Nurse stuck with Harris in the starting five and the veteran rewarded his faith in Game 5, Pompey notes, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Harris was a +11 in 49 minutes of action. “Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going,” Harris said. “And I think that was just big for myself and overall, and just getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow out there.”

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Lillard, Portis, Middleton, Horst

April 29th, 2024 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Trailing 3-1 in their series with Indiana, the Bucks‘ best hope for a comeback rests with the return of injured stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, writes Jim Owczarski of The Journal Sentinel. Both players sat out Sunday’s loss, but neither has been ruled out for the series, which resumes Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo, who has been sidelined since suffering a calf strain April 9, has been listed as doubtful for the first four games. However, there’s cause for optimism after the former MVP completed an intense workout Sunday morning.

“It went well,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He moved, he shot, he’s running now with no resistance. So those are all very good signs.” Rivers said he’s “optimistic” about Antetokounmpo’s chances to return at some point, adding, “Like I think there’s a chance for him to play in this series. I really do.”

Lillard aggravated his right Achilles tendon late in Game 3. He wore a walking boot for Saturday’s film session, but didn’t have it on as he sat on the bench for Sunday’s contest. He was officially listed as out with tendinitis in the Achilles tendon.

“Not shutting him down,” Rivers said. “That’s a fact. I can say that much for sure.”

There is “obviously pessimism” about the status of both players with a quick turnaround for Game 5, Shams Charania said this morning on Run It Back (video link).

There’s more on the Bucks:

Milwaukee lost an important part of its rotation on Sunday when Bobby Portis was ejected seven minutes into the game for an altercation with Andrew Nembhard (video link), notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Although Nembhard pulled Portis’ arm, the officials determined during a video review that Portis’ push and open-handed strike were two separate hostile acts, meeting the standard for an ejection. “The emotions got the best of him,” Khris Middleton said. “I thought, for the most part of the year, he’s done a great job flirting with that line and not crossing over it. Tonight, it just crossed over at the worst time for us.”
Middleton played 40 minutes on Sunday despite pain in both ankles, Nehm adds. The veteran swingman was dealing with a sprained right ankle entering the game, and he hurt the left one when Myles Turner landed on it during a third quarter collision.
Sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer there’s a legitimate chance that general manager Jon Horst will leave the Bucks this summer to become head of basketball operations for the Pistons. Horst wasn’t on board with either of the team’s coaching hirings over the past year, according to O’Connor, as he preferred Nick Nurse when the organization opted for Adrian Griffin to please Antetokounmpo and he pushed for Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson when Rivers was brought in at midseason. O’Connor notes that Horst is a Michigan native who got his first front office job with the Pistons, and he might be more comfortable building a young team than refining Milwaukee’s aging roster.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic looks at the strategic adjustments made by Rivers and Indiana’s Rick Carlisle that have helped to shape the series.

Sixers To File Grievance Over Officating

April 23rd, 2024 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

4:26pm: The league acknowledged in its last two-minute report that Brunson and Josh Hart both fouled Maxey during the last-minute scramble. It also indicated Nurse should have been granted a timeout on the inbounds play, Bontemps tweets.

7:26am: Following their Game 2 loss to the Knicks in New York on Monday, the Sixers intend to file a grievance with the NBA over the officiating, a team spokesperson told Tim Bontemps of ESPN and Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.

According to Neubeck, the 76ers’ list of concerns will include (but won’t necessarily be limited to) the following:

Two calls in the last two-minute report from Game 1 went against the Sixers.
The Sixers have been the most disadvantaged team in the NBA this season based on last two-minute reports, with a report compiled in early April indicating that 22 missed calls benefited their opponents and 11 benefited them, the worst such ratio in the league.
The Knicks included detailed referee information in their game notes for the first two games of the series (Twitter link), which Bontemps describes as “unusual.”
The Sixers believe they should have been awarded a timeout at multiple points during a key inbounds play and possession late in Monday’s loss (Twitter video link). They also believe Tyrese Maxey was fouled during the play, with Jalen Brunson grabbing his jersey.

That inbounds play occurred with 27 seconds left in the game and the Sixers holding a two-point lead. Head coach Nick Nurse appeared to briefly signal for a timeout just before Kyle Lowry inbounded the ball to Maxey, who was held by Brunson. Maxey fell to the floor with the ball as Nurse attempted to call timeout again, but the Sixers lost possession before a timeout could be granted, leading to a Donte DiVincenzo go-ahead three-pointer.

“Well, the first thing is obviously they score,” Nurse said in describing the sequence after the game. “We take a look at getting it in quick. We don’t get it in quick. I call timeout. Referee looked right at me. Ignored me. Went into Tyrese, I called timeout again. Then the melee started.

“I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it. Would’ve been good. But, couldn’t get it.”

Joel Embiid was even more blunt in expressing his displeasure with the officiating.

“Everybody was trying to call a timeout on the floor,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “Me included. Coach on the sideline. But they didn’t give it to us. But, forget about the timeout. There’s a bunch of fouls. That’s f—ing unacceptable. …That’s on the frigging referees. I hate to put the game on them. But I am sure the two-minute report is going to come out and we are going to see what happened. … We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds. For that to happen … that’s not OK.”

The Sixers weren’t the only team with complaints about the officiating after a tough Monday loss. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, the Lakers also had gripes to share after losing to Denver 101-99 on a Jamal Murray buzzer beater.

Los Angeles was upset that a Michael Porter Jr. foul on D’Angelo Russell in the third quarter, which would have led to a pair of free throws, was overturned because the contact was deemed “marginal” (Twitter video link). Russell later tweeted, “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television.”

“D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” LeBron James said. “What the f–k do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me. … It bothers me. … And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game too. Like, what are we doing?”

As Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets, the Sixers’ grievance isn’t a formal protest of Game 2, so it won’t affect the outcome of Monday’s contest. It’s presumably just an attempt at gamesmanship on behalf of the 76ers, who will be looking to regain an edge in the series as the teams head to Philadelphia for Game 3.

For what it’s worth, Embiid remains very confident in his team’s ability to pull out the series despite facing a 2-0 deficit.

“We’re good,” Embiid told reporters on Monday, according to Bontemps. “We’re going to win this series. “We are going to win this. We know what we got to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it. We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting.”

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