PHILADELPHIA – After the Los Angeles Clippers' 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, crew chief Kevin Scott said in a pool report that a foul should have been called on 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr.'s drive in the game. Final play.
“On the last play on the ground, in real time, the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically,” Scott said. “However, in the post-match video review, we noticed some slight drift to his left by the defender [Paul] “George, it should have been a mistake.”
The play capped off a truly chaotic final minute of action, featuring several turnovers, a punt that resulted in a jump ball, two costly turnovers from the 76ers, a pair of and-1s by Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, and, ultimately, the Oubre drive that led to it. In it he lay on the floor as the Clippers celebrated a much-needed victory in James Harden's first game in South Philly since he was traded.
The nurse stormed into court to object to the no-call and had to be restrained by his aides. Oubre also jumped into the mix, pointing at each of the three officials — Scott, JB DeRosa, and Brandon Adair — before they were pulled away.
“First and foremost, the heat of the moment,” Oubre said when asked about his actions after the game. “It's an intense basketball game, of course. And we're not perfect. The referees aren't perfect. I want to apologize for losing my temper, because that's something I try to work on every day, and I try to be able to do that.” I represent God the best way I can, and that's not the case, so I'm just asking for forgiveness.
“But I saw Coach Nurse getting angry, and if our coach is going to fight for us and go out there, I'm all for it. But at the end of the day, it wasn't great. So I'll accept whatever punishments come with that. You've got to move on, but I've got to be better.” To some extent”.
For his part, Nurse still believes Philadelphia was on the verge of making several late calls, but he also admitted the 76ers contributed to their demise.
“Well, when it was 104-101, we had the ball on the sideline, [and] Therese [Maxey] “He breaks into the backfield wide open, slips and falls and they get a 1-and-1 from that,” Nurse said. “We went down and scored. They are putting full pressure on the field and pushing Kelly out of bounds.”
However, he also felt that there should have been some things called otherwise as of late.
“I suspect [Oubre] “I took it very hard,” the nurse said. “I looked at it on our computers a few times. I thought it was definitely a connection, sure like a lot of the last two or three were called and -1 on the other end,” the nurse said. “I thought it was enough connection to call. [But] That's the way things go sometimes.”
For both teams, the end of the match was a despondency worthy of their final match. Philadelphia is now 13-26 this season when playing without the NBA's reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, who continues to inch closer to a return from his left lateral meniscus procedure seven weeks ago.
With this loss, the 76ers now occupy eighth place in the Eastern Conference, after missing the opportunity to replace the sixth-place Indiana Pacers, who lost to Chicago on Wednesday.
“I keep saying the same thing,” Maxie said. “I know every time we get on the floor we're trying to win, but if we can get Big Fella back, we just need to get going in the right direction. I feel like whoever we face come playoff time or whatever the situation is. I feel like we have Great opportunity and great opportunity with him on our team.
“So us, the other guys, have to step in the right direction, do all the little things and go out there and play really hard on defense and play the right way, so when he comes back, we can move forward.” “.
Meanwhile, the Clippers were coming off a horrific pair of home losses to the 76ers and Pacers, and were beginning a four-game East Coast road trip on Wednesday, having been caught in a dogfight for not only the current fourth-place finish in the West but also just two games out of playoff spots. .
It all ended up overshadowing Harden's first game in Philadelphia since the trade, as the future Hall of Famer finished with 16 points and 14 assists in 39 minutes. He was booed during introductions and during the first quarter, but as the game wore on, his comeback faded into the background of what became an intensely competitive game with a frenetic finish.
“I was expecting that,” Harden said of the reaction. “I don't really know what it is, but I was expecting it.
“That's the thing. I don't know why they booed.”
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