The Philadelphia 76ers are filing an official grievance with the league over the officiating in the first two games of their opening round playoff series with the New York Knicks, a team official told ESPN on Monday night.
The 76ers’ move came shortly after their wild 104-101 loss to the Knicks in Game 2 of their series on Monday at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks took a 2-0 lead in the series after that win.
The 76ers plan to file a grievance with the NBA over the officiating across the first two games of this series, a team spokesperson told ESPN.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 23, 2024
According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, the grievance isn’t an official protest of the Game 2 loss — so that result will stand regardless. Instead, the 76ers wanted to find a way to voice their displeasure with the officiating in the postseason. The team will say in the grievance that the Sixers have “been disadvantaged more than any other team” in the league when it comes to officiating, per the report.
The end of Game 2 was chaotic. The Knicks trailed the 76ers by five points with 32 seconds remaining before Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Knicks out in front. DiVincenzo’s bucket came after a ridiculous sequence when Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey on the sideline after an inbounds pass.
Maxey was knocked to the ground during that scramble, but no foul was called.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said after the game that he tried to call a timeout multiple times during that frantic finish but he wasn’t granted one.
“I call timeout [before the inbound]. Referee looked right at me, ignored me,” Nurse said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gina Mizell. “It went into Tyrese. I called timeout again. Then the melee started … I guess I gotta run out onto the floor or do something to make sure to get his attention.”
Philly’s Joel Embiid said he was trying to call a timeout there, too. The loss, he said repeatedly after the game, was unacceptable.
“Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout, myself included … But they didn’t give it to us,” Embiid said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “But forget about the timeout, there’s a bunch of fouls. Like I said, that’s f***ing unacceptable.”
“Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout, myself included, Nico, coach on the sideline, but they didn’t give it to us.”
Joel Embiid was left noticeably frustrated following the Sixers’ Game 2 loss but knows his team is still capable of winning this series. pic.twitter.com/RD7lJFlp5J
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 23, 2024
For what it’s worth, the NBA said on Tuesday that Maxey was fouled by both Brunson and Hart, and Nurse should have been granted a timeout at the end of the game.
The 76ers will use information from the last two minute reports from games at the end of the regular season and Game 1 to make their argument. They’ll certainly point to other examples than just Monday night’s timeout gripe to make their point, though it’s unclear what will come of the grievance.
Game 3 of the series is set for Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“We good,” Embiid said. “We’re gonna win this series. We gonna win this.”
