The New York Knicks just handed the Philadelphia 76ers a disappointing loss in Game 2, turning the outcome of the game in their favor in the final seconds of the matchup. An upset Joel Embiid expressed his displeasure over the officials missing out on crucial calls in crunch time, leading to his scathing rant as the Knicks take a two-game lead over the 76ers.
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The 76ers led the game by 5 points with under a minute left to play. And that is when a wild sequence of Knicks getting two back-to-back three-pointers in succession took place, tipping the scale of the outcome in New York’s favor.
While it may have seemed like a commendable effort by Knicks fans, Joel Embiid surely did not feel that way. After the game, a grieving Embiid had this to say about the officiating in the final minute of the game.
“I mean, everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout, myself included, Nico, coach on the sideline. But they didn’t give it to us. But forget about the timeout, there’s a bunch of fouls like I said, that’s f**king unacceptable.”
Embiid decided to join the 76ers lineup early after being sidelined with an injury in the regular season. He almost got injured in Game 1 of this seven-game series but continued to give it his all on the floor.
If you look closely at the video above, Jalen Brunson can be seen holding on to Tyrese Maxey’s jersey as the 76ers tried to inbound the ball in the final seconds of the game. And that is what Embiid could be indicating toward.
Prior to Brunson clinching onto Maxey’s jersey was a loose ball play on the floor that the officials might not have paid close attention to either. However, Embiid saw everything while he was on the floor, leading to his extreme disappointment.
But despite losing games 1 and 2, Embiid is hopeful that the 76ers will be able to bounce back and come out on top in this series.
“We’re gonna win this series. We’re gonna win this. We know what we’ve got to fix. We did a better job today, so we’re gonna fix it. We’re the better team and we’re gonna keep fighting.”
After the game, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart sat down for a post-game press conference. When asked about tonight’s win, Brunson said,
“The one thing about this team, no one really cares about who’s doing what, who gets the credit for what or anything. We just want to go out there and win.”
The New York Knicks will now be traveling to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on their home turf. Going into games 3 & 4 with a two-game lead, it’ll be difficult for Philly to climb over the hump.
But given the officiating in the final minutes of the game might be all the fuel this 76ers squad needs to rally back into the series. Tune into TNT Network at 7:30 PM ET to see the 76ers host the Knicks for the third game of this seven-game series.
