Joel Embiid Got A Flagrant For Grabbing Mitchell Robinson’s Legs From The Ground

The first two games between the Sixers and Knicks have been tense battles that both went New York’s way, but for the most part they had avoided too much chippiness. However, after the crazy ending to Game 2 that saw the Knicks absolutely steal the game — with some controversial no-calls in the closing seconds — the frustration levels were elevated for the Sixers coming into Game 3 in Philly.

Joel Embiid had voiced his anger with the lack of calls in Game 2, and the physicality of the series continued in the first quarter of Game 3, leaving the 2022-23 MVP on tilt. After not getting a call on the offensive end and getting knocked to the ground on the defensive end, Embiid couldn’t contain his emotion and frustratedly (and dangerously) grabbed Mitchell Robinson by the legs and pulled him down from the ground as the Knicks center went up for a finish.

That sparked a brief kerfuffle and sent the referees to the monitors where they looked at the replay that showed a clearly dangerous and unnecessary play by Embiid, and upgrade the foul to a Flagrant 1.

It was certainly the right call, as Embiid cannot be grabbing at guys down low like that, but also you don’t want to toss a star like Embiid in the first quarter of the game. That said, the big fella is going to have to control his emotions as he deals with the physicality that’s being allowed in this series (and across the league as a whole in the playoffs).