Despite winning Game 6 of the Philadelphia 76ers-Atlanta Hawks second-round series, Joel Embiid wasn’t happy with the officials of the match. After the game, the big man had a lot to say, calling out the refs for allegedly favoring Trae Young.
It was a hard-fought match for the Sixers, but they stood firm to force Game 7 of one of the best series in the playoff this year. Still, he had something to say ahead of the win-or-go-home game, criticizing the referees and blasting Young. The curious part here is that Embiid refused to mention the rival point guard’s name.
After the 76ers’ 104-99 Game 6 win Friday to tie up their second-round series with the Hawks, Joel Embiid was so fed up with how he viewed the officiating for him compared to Atlanta’s superstar leader that he wouldn’t even say Trae Young’s name.
“I just felt like it wasn’t called both ways, especially because of the minimal contact that they get on the point guard, and when it comes to us, we don’t get the same thing,” Embiid said after Philadelphia came back from down 12 in the first quarter to win. “So I just want it called both ways. If you’re going to call something like nothing on their point guard, it should be the same way and call the same thing [for] me when I get — if I get — touched.”
The Cameroonian said that Young also deserved a technical foul after pushing Embiid from behind, but the refs only gave a tech to JoJo.
“I got a tech for it, and I didn’t think it was an offensive foul,” Embiid said after finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds. “I was just trying to stay calm and have my hands up. And someone was pushing me from the back, and I don’t understand why I got a tech.
“But I guess it is what it is. I was hacked all night, and I don’t think I was on the free throw line until I got to the fourth quarter and all that stuff. So it was questionable, but we got the win. That’s all that matters.”
This series has gotten more intense as the days went by. We are ready for a Game 7 this Sunday when the intensity will go through the roof. Both teams hope that refs don’t make a decision that affect them, but it’s hard to see squads not complaining about specific calls during a Game 7.
