76ers star Joel Embiid was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Monday for comments he made about the officials following Philadelphia's Game 4 loss vs. Toronto in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. Embiid sarcastically congratulated the referees after the Philly's 110-102 defeat in a game in which the Raptors shot 35 free throws and the Sixers only took 25.
"I'm going to take my own advice and not complain about fouls," Embiid told reporters after the game. "But like I was doing at the end of the game: They did a great job. I admire the job that they did today. To me, it felt like they had one job coming in here tonight. And they got it done. Congrats to them, tonight."
Embiid, who finished with 21 points in Game 4 and was 7 for 9 at the free-throw line, also gave the refs a golf clap on his way off the court in Toronto.
Joel giving the refs the golf clap 👀 pic.twitter.com/gs8O1pETdM
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 23, 2022
The officiating around Embiid has been one of the biggest topics of this first-round series. Raptors coach Nick Nurse was not pleased after the first two games when Embiid combined to shoot 25 free throws -- including 12 in the first quarter of Game 2. Embiid, who is playing through a thumb injury, went to the free-throw line nine times in both Games 3 and 4 in Toronto. The MVP finalist and his teammates will try to close out the Raptors in Game 5 Monday night.
Embiid was not the only person to get fined by the NBA on Monday. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was also hit with a $15K penalty for his comments about the officiating in Memphis' Game 4 loss to Minnesota. It stands to reason Phoenix coach Monty Williams will be the next person to get fined after his comments about the officiating in Game 4 of the Suns' loss to the Pelicans on Sunday night.
