Block or No Block? Embiid, Harden React to Giannis' Big Play

Tuesday's matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers came down to the wire. After Milwaukee outscored the Sixers 27-24 in the first quarter, the Sixers bounced back and delivered a tough blow to the Bucks in the second quarter as they rallied with 37 points and held Milwaukee to just 24.

Going into halftime, the Sixers led by ten points. In the third quarter, Philadelphia improved their lead to as much as 14 at one point, but the Bucks were able to cut into that and eventually get out in front in the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee rallied in the final quarter and took the lead. Eventually, the game went down to the wire. With a little under 30 seconds to go, the Sixers trailed by one point, going into a timeout.

With the go-ahead bucket drawn up for Joel Embiid to take the shot, the Sixers' big man missed from 14 feet away. Bucks guard Jrue Holiday came down with the rebound and got the ball in Giannis Antetokounmpo's hands.

Antetokounmpo hit the free-throw line with 13 seconds left to go. After hitting his first attempt, the Bucks went up by two points. His second attempt was unsuccessful and led to a rebound by Joel Embiid, followed by another timeout.

Coming out of the final Sixers timeout, James Harden got the nod to take the final shot. His 25-foot three-point attempt with four seconds left to go was unsuccessful. Fortunately for the Sixers, Embiid grabbed the board and managed to get another shot off. However, Antetokounmpo came up with a huge block, which led to a controversial call by the referees.

Block or Goaltend?

The Sixers were granted two points and tied the game up with one second left to go. According to the officials, Antetokounmpo was goaltending on the play. Considering the circumstances, the play was reviewed.

GIANNIS pic.twitter.com/M73rjhll04
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"I thought it was close," said Embiid. "I probably should have gone up harder, but in that situation, I didn't know how much time was left, so I was just trying to get the ball up quickly. I thought it was close. I didn't know if it was a goaltend or not."

After further review, the referees decided to reverse their decision to call it a goaltend. A lengthy replay review proved to the officials that Antetokounmpo prevented the basket with a clean block on Embiid.

"I didn't see it," said Harden, who didn't have a great live angle. "They went to the review, so I'm sure they got it right. . . hopefully."

Embiid and Harden were left still questioning whether the right call was made or not, as they truly couldn't decide. Doc Rivers, on the other hand, switched his stance once he saw the replay on the jumbotron.

"I did [think it was goaltending], but once I saw it, I didn't," Rivers said. "Live, I thought it was a goaltend. It was a spectacular block. I think they got the call right. I mean, they took an hour and 20 minutes to look at it. You just gotta assume they got it right."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.