Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook face each other in the final possession of the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers last night, which ended as a controversial 1-point win for the 76ers. The final play of the game has been under a scanner for the last 24 hours.
Westbrook tried to score off an isolation play against Embiid even though the team had 2 timeouts left and LeBron James on the court. Russ would fail miserably, almost dribbling the ball off his own foot. After the game, Russ alleged that Embiid held his hand for that possession, and the referees didn’t call it. Embiid has responded to the allegation.
Joel Embiid on the last play guarding Russell Westbrook: “I don’t think I fouled him … He was unlucky because he lost the ball. I would say he was unlucky”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 16, 2023
The league’s L2M report says Westbrook wasn’t fouled. They’ve been pretty honest about accepting their mistakes, as they did when they announced they missed 7 calls in the last Lakers’ loss against Dallas, so it probably was just bad luck that ultimately hurt Russ.
Should Russell Westbrook Have Passed The Ball?
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham defended the decision to let Westbrook attack a mismatch with Embiid after the game, saying he’d run that play every time it becomes available to him. It did seem like he was trying to ensure he was supporting Westbrook, who did have a great game prior to his late-game mistake.
LeBron James was having a special night, making history by reaching 38,000 points. Even if his shot hasn’t been falling, if LeBron drives to the rim, multiple defenders would ensure he can’t score, creating an open shot for others on the court. Ultimately, we didn’t get to see that, and the Lakers are now sitting at 19-24.
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