As time trickled down in the fourth quarter of Game 2 between the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers, Nick Nurse and Joel Embiid were seen having a chat along the sideline.
Philadelphia was on the receiving end of more foul calls throughout the game and the Raptors coach made sure to voice his displeasure with the referees. Embiid took notice of Nurse’s reaction given how critical he’s been on the officiating.
“He’s a great coach obviously, what he’s been able to accomplish I always been a big fan,” Embiid told reporters after the game. “But I told him, respectfully, to stop b****g about calls because I saw what he said last game. I mean, if you’re going to triple-team somebody all game, they’re bound to get to the free-throw line… So, I feel like every foul was legit and probably should’ve been more.
“I think it’s all about having self-awareness and I think coaches just do it because they have to but they don’t have to actually believe it. If you watch the clips, every single foul is a foul.”
Nurse was quite complimentary towards the 76ers star centre while discussing his exchange with Embiid after the game to reporters.
“He was saying to me that ‘I’m going to keep making all the free throws if you keep fouling me,’ and I said, ‘Well, you might have to,’ ” Nurse said. “A good player, man. I have a lot of respect for him.
“He’s certainly playing great here, and there’s nothing there. But I was trying to compete against him and him trying to compete against us.”
Following the Raptors’s Game 1 loss, Nurse was vocal about the lack of foul calls against Embiid and losing Fred VanVleet and Chris Boucher who both fouled out. He felt there were times where the Raptors defender beat Embiid to the spot on the court but were called for a foul anyway.
“I don’t care if you’re 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him to the spot and he runs you over, it’s a foul,” Nurse told reporters. “I thought he threw three or four elbows to the face. He got called for one. We’re going to stand in there.”
“If we’re legal defensively, then we gotta have them call it or we don’t have a chance,” Nurse added. “Period. Nobody can guard that guy if they’re just gonna let him run you over time and time again. We’re gonna stand in there and we’ll see.”