Embiid takes shot at Raptors' Nurse after Game 2 win
Published
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said that the Brooklyn Nets "took the Nick Nurse route" of pleading for calls following their Game 1 victory.
Over the weekend, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said a lack of calls went against Embiid in the series-opener and hoped referees would be different in Game 2. After the Sixers cruised past the Nets 96-84 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series Monday night, Embiid compared Vaughn's actions to the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia's first-round opponent during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
"I saw after the game last time they [the Nets] kinda took the Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees. They did come out and they got a lot of calls, which I guess is good for them," Embiid said.
The Sixers were whistled for 22 total fouls Monday night while the Nets committed 20. Embiid finished with 20 points and a game-high 19 rebounds in the victory.
Brooklyn led the game 49-44 at halftime, but the 76ers found their groove in the second half, outscoring the Nets 52-35 for a double-digit win.
"What happened in the second half was we just figured out what worked, and we just kept doing it over and over and over. They stuck to their game plan, they didn't make any adjustments, and we just figured it out and just kept playing together," Embiid said.
The Nets shot just 35 per cent from the field in the latter 24 minutes and Vaughn said that was a big part of what did them in.
“The only adjustment made was that ball didn't go in the hole for us,” Vaughn said. “We got open looks, they tried to go zone, we had enough shooting out there. The ball just didn't go in.”
The series now shifts to Brooklyn with Game 3 going from Barclays Center Thursday night.