76ers Blast Refs For Loss Against Knicks

Defeat has done nothing to deter the Philadelphia 76ers' bluster, as they've promised both a comeback over the New York Knicks and a conversation with the NBA.

Apr 22, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) is looked at byd / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

With "Madagascar" stars Chris Rock and Ben Stiller sitting in Madison Square Garden's courtside section, the Philadelphia 76ers were annoyed with a different brand of zebra-based antics on Monday night.

Every awe-inspiring NBA playoff moment has a heartbroken team on the other side of it, and the Philadelphia 76ers fulfilled that role against the New York Knicks. Victims of Donte DiVincenzo's divine intervention, a go-ahead three-pointer that turned a five-point deficit into a 104-101 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Sixers are hardly comforted by the fact they get to go home for the next two sets of the series beginning on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT).

Frachise face Joel Embiid, for example, referred to Monday's loss as "worse than Game 7" per David Aldridge of The Athletic, which doesn't really narrow things down considering the fact that his Sixers have fallen in three different such contests since 2019. The loss to the Knicks does stand as particularly brutal: Philadelphia fell despite another brutal shooting night from Jalen Brunson while Embiid and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey united for 69 points in defeat.

Philadelphia's true qualms thus lied with officiating, as the 76ers claimed that referees missed several crucial calls, including one for a timeout, were ignored during the chaotic final sequence. Holding a 101-96 lead in the final minute, a Brunson three-pointer narrowed the gap to two. Once it was clear that his men were having trouble with the ensuing inbounds pass, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse claimed to have called for a time but was "ignored" by officials.

Mar 29, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse reacts to a call during / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

"We take a look at getting it in quick. We don't get it in quick. I call timeout," Nurse said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. "Referee looked right at me, ignored me. Went into Tyrese, I called timeout again. Then the melee started."

Maxey caught the pass but was swarmed by a Brunson/Josh Hart double-team, causing him to fumble the ball. Hart eventually found it and got it to DiVincenzo, whose second of two attempts at a go-ahead triple sailed through to give the Knicks the lead and launch the Garden and the Sixers into different brands of hysterics.

Bontemps' report stated that the Sixers plan to file a grievance with the league over the officiating over the first two games.

"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," Nurse said. "(It) would've been good, but, couldn't get it."

Other members of the Sixers claimed that they were not only calling timeout on the floor but that Maxey got held by Brunson before the fateful pass was inbounded, even though an equal argument could be made that Maxey pushed off on Hart before. Embiid, shooter of 24 of the 76ers' 44 free throw attempts in this season (the Knicks have been awarded 51), was far more direct in his criticism than Nurse.

Apr 22, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) shoots the ball in / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

"(Maxey) did his job. That's on the league. That's on the NBA. That's on the frigging referees," Embiid said in Bontemps' report. "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. But ... that's unacceptable. That's not on him. That's not on any of us. We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds. For that to happen ... that's not OK."

Through it all, Embiid vowed that the series would eventually shift Philadelphia's way whether officials are willing to cooperate or not. Both games in the series have seen the Sixers jump out to double-figure lads but they're nonetheless the Knicks' first victim of a 2-0 series lead since the 2013 Boston Celtics, who likewise fell in the opening round.

“We should be 2-0,” Embiid said, per Aldridge. “So, we’re good. We’re going win this series. We’re going to win this. We know what we’ve got to fix. We did a better job today. So, we’re going to fix it. But we’re the better team and we’re going to keep fighting.”