Doc Rivers Didn't Doubt Challenge to Keep Joel Embiid In vs. Cavs

Doc Rivers was confident he would win the challenge to keep Joel Embiid in the matchup against the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Facing the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers nearly caught a game-changing break in the final five minutes of the game. Trailing by single digits, the Cavaliers believed they were going to have the final few minutes of the matchup Joel Embiid-free. 

But a successful challenge by Sixers head coach Doc Rivers shot that dream down quickly.

By collecting two fouls in the third quarter, and two fouls midway through the fourth quarter, Embiid was in the red with five fouls to his name. As the big man was playing aggressively on the defensive end, it came with a price to pay at times.

With a little under six minutes left in the game, the Sixers led 105-98. At that point, Embiid picked up his fifth whistle. Rivers decided not to panic and kept the thriving big man on the floor.

Under two minutes later, Embiid collected his sixth foul, which came on the offensive end. Since it was the play that would take Embiid out of the game, Doc Rivers decided to quickly call a timeout and signal for a review.

Joel Embiid was called for his sixth foul.

Doc Rivers challenged the call and was successful. pic.twitter.com/AI0K4jt6qp

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 16, 2023

“I was one-hundred percent sure it was another great challenge,” he said while smirking. “I didn’t know. I actually thought he flopped on the play. I really didn’t think that Jo would be fouled out.”

Initially, Embiid showed frustration after hearing the whistle as his shot landed successfully. The big man didn’t seem to think he pushed off, and it was rather a better sell by the opponent, Evan Mobley.

Even though he claimed his innocence after the play, Rivers said that Embiid was worried that he wouldn’t have the chance to close the game out.

“Jo did [think he fouled], that’s what scared me,” Rivers continued. “He just felt like they were calling… I felt good about it. It’s rare that I don’t turn around and look at our guy. I was standing there, and I called that one right away. We had a timeout that we were going to lose under three anyway.”

Rivers mentioned that it could’ve gone either way, so he felt comfortable taking the chance. In the moment, it seemed to be the logical move considering Embiid was by and far the best player on the floor Wednesday night, as he had a game-high of 36 points along with 18 rebounds, three assists, and four blocks at that point in the game. 

“I really thought there was a good chance,” Rivers finished. “I didn’t know, obviously because it could’ve gone either way, but I thought there was a good chance that it could’ve been overturned.” 

The head coach’s instincts were right. Embiid remained in the game and was able to finish his 38-minute shift. The Sixers closed out the game with a 118-109 win over Cleveland, snagging their sixth in a row. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.