Joel Embiid fined $25,000 for his colorful criticism of refs after Celtics game

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To nobody’s surprise, Joel Embiid was fined $25,000 by the NBA Wednesday for criticizing the officials.

After the Sixers’ 112-109 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday night (see observations), he ended his postgame press conference by leaning into the microphone and saying, “The referees f------ suck.”

You couldn’t find a much more textbook example of criticizing the officials. 

The league released the following statement:

"Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of the officiating, which included the use of inappropriate language, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations."

Embiid, who posted 23 points and 14 rebounds, was frustrated by Al Horford and the Celtics for most of the night (see story). Though he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, Embiid struggled against Horford. He said he "was sleepwalking for three quarters."

He wasn’t pleased with several calls in the fourth quarter, including a no-call with 33.6 seconds left when Horford appeared to hit him on the arm as he went up for a shot with the Sixers trailing by two points.

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