Danny Green Had a Message for Joel Embiid After 76ers Beat Cavs
Two former teammates, Danny Green and Joel Embiid, linked up after Wednesday night’s matchup in Cleveland. Shortly after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 118-109 win, Green approached the six-time All-Star with a message.
“That’s a [expletive] charge,” Green said to Embiid, referring to the controversial call late in the fourth quarter. “It was a charge.”
Green’s message to Embiid was in good fun, as he said with a smile, but Embiid refused to agree.
“That’s not a charge!” Embiid exclaimed. “He was flopping.”
After the game, Embiid explained the play from his perspective.
“I think it was a good call. I never extended my arm and I never really put a lot of pressure into hitting him. And you could tell right before the hit, he was trying to flop and fall. I didn't think I had extended anything. I watch basketball every day. And based on the way those are officiated — We got some guys that basically play like running backs in this league that get that call all the time — I was pretty confident."
Initially, Embiid was whistled for an offensive foul against Cleveland’s Evan Mobley. With that call, Embiid collected his sixth foul of the game, which was supposed to end his night prematurely. At the time, Embiid was leading all players on the floor in scoring and rebounding.
Doc Rivers didn’t hesitate to challenge the call. To the Cavaliers’ surprise, the call was reversed. Embiid stayed on the court and heard it from the crowd as the Sixers moved forward and collected a sixth-straight win over the Cavs.
As expected, the Cavaliers wouldn’t be satisfied with the call following the matchup. Danny Green fell under that category. Either way, the officiating crew confirmed they had the right call after the game.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
