Sixers' Joel Embiid Reacts to Hard Foul From Lakers' LeBron James
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers had their matchup go down to the wire on Wednesday night. Although the game wasn't necessarily viewed as a chippy one, there was a point in the game when both team's superstars picked up flagrant foul calls within moments of each other.
The first one occurred with five minutes left to go in the third quarter. As Sixers center Joel Embiid took flight to attempt a dunk over LeBron James, the Lakers star defended himself on the play by failing to make a basketball move.
Instead, he shoved Embiid while he was airborne, forcing the big man to take a hard spill on the ground and injure his back. After the whistles went off, the referees reviewed the play and decided it was a Flagrant 1 foul committed by LeBron.
After Wednesday night's game, Embiid reacted to the play. "First of all, if you look at it, that's a very dangerous play," Embiid said. "I guarantee you that if it was me, I would've probably been ejected from the game."
Not even two minutes after Embiid took a hard foul from James, the referees whistled the Sixers center for an offensive foul after it appeared he elbowed Lakers big man Anthony Davis while driving to the lane. After the foul was reviewed, Embiid also picked up a Flagrant 1 foul, which he believes shouldn't be compared to the foul that James committed earlier.
"I thought I didn't hit him or elbow him -- I might've touched him but I don't think it deserved the Flagrant," Embiid explained. "I mean, if you're going to compare those two, those are tough plays. And I just thought [the foul on me] should've been a Flagrant 2."
Obviously, both Embiid and James remained in the game following their fouls. Although his back continued to bother him after the fall, Embiid finished the night with 28 points in 37 minutes of action. James, on the other hand, led the Lakers in scoring with 34 points in 38 minutes of action.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
