Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Monday for his comments criticizing officials.
The five-time all-star showed his displeasure towards referees Scott Foster, Ed Malloy and Rodney Mott with a mocking applause as he left the court following the 76ers' 110-102 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. The win cut Philadelphia's series lead to 3-1.
"I admire the job that they did today," Embiid told reporters after the game. "To me, it felt like they had one job coming in here tonight and they got it done. So congrats to them."
Although the 76ers were called for 26 fouls versus the Raptors' 20, Toronto attempted 35 shots from the free-throw line compared to 25 for Philadelphia.
Embiid has a league-leading 30.6 points per game in the playoffs and is also averaging 11.7 rebounds.
The seven-footer from Cameroon posted 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in Game 4 despite playing with a brace on his right hand to protect a torn ligament in his thumb that will require surgery after the season.
Game 5 of the series goes down Monday night in Philadelphia. Watch on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT with Raptors Central, followed by tip-off at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
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