The NBA’s most scrutinized right thumb at the moment wasn’t entirely done when the final buzzer sounded Saturday afternoon.
Following the Sixers’ Game 4 loss to the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, Joel Embiid offered some sarcastic applause for the officiating crew.
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Playing through a thumb injury officially listed as a sprain, Embiid scored 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting and recorded eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. He exhibited neither the “I’ll take whatever they give me” mindset evident in a zero-turnover Game 1 performance nor the game-changing greatness he’d displayed Wednesday in leading the Sixers to a stirring comeback win and 3-0 series advantage.
Quite clearly, he didn’t like how the game was called. Embiid took nine foul shots, 2.8 below his league-leading average during the regular season. Six of his attempts came over the final 4:06, and none of those ever looked likely to impact the outcome.
“I’m going to take my own advice and not complain about fouls,” Embiid said to reporters in Toronto after the game. “But like I was doing at the end of the game, (the officials) 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. So congrats to them.”
Embiid indicated he’ll be more forceful in Game 5.
“ … I guess next game, if they’re not going to call it, I’m going to be even more aggressive offensively and defensively,” he told reporters. “If they want to give (the Raptors) fouls, or if they want to call non-fouls, really got to make them earn it and really be physical.”
The Raptors don’t look or sound like a team that will gladly accept whatever Embiid throws their way.
Both sides in this series have highlighted the officials after defeats that were, of course, not solely attributable to unjust whistles. In the final seconds of the Sixers’ Game 2 win, Embiid said he “respectfully” told Toronto head coach Nick Nurse to “stop bitching about the officiating.”
On Saturday, the Raptors posted 22 of the game’s 25 points off turnovers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. They made the Sixers play from behind most of the afternoon, and Pascal Siakam then scored 15 of his playoff career-high 34 points in the fourth quarter.
Injuries became a key storyline in the series when Embiid accidentally stepped on Scottie Barnes’ foot in Game 1. Barnes, who was named Rookie of the Year on Saturday, returned from his left ankle sprain to give Toronto 26 minutes off the bench. Fred VanVleet left in the second quarter with a left hip strain and did not return. VanVleet entered the series with a right knee injury that affected him throughout the second half of the season, and he’d been well below his best. Before exiting Game 4, VanVleet had gone 7 for his last 34 from the floor.
As for Embiid, the 28-year-old MVP finalist told reporters he’ll have an MRI on his thumb Sunday. Since suffering the injury in Game 3, he has not indicated that he expects it will cause him to miss playoff games.
The Sixers will try to close the Raptors out again Monday night in Philadelphia. When that game’s over, they’d presumably prefer to discuss advancing to the second round over controversial officiating and damaged thumbs.