Knicks can't expect any help from refs in Game 4 against 76ers

PHILADELPHIA

The Knicks cannot depend on the officials to protect them.

That ship sailed on Thursday in their Game 3 playoff loss to the 76ers when the officiating crew at the Wells Fargo Center decided not to call a flagrant 2 foul on Joel Embiid after his dangerous yank-down of Mitchell Robinson with a little more than four minutes left in the first quarter.

There’s little doubt that Embiid, the reigning MVP, pushed the limits of ejection early in the game after kneeing the Knicks’ other center, Isaiah Hartenstein, in the groin. And the Knicks can’t do all that much about it, given that Embiid is one of the biggest stars in the game.

“The No. 1 job of the official is to control and manage the game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Saturday when asked about the fouls after practice. “So when there’s stuff like that going on, that’s their job. But we don’t mind being physical.”

Both teams vowed at practice Saturday not to change the physical nature of their play for Sunday’s Game 4. The Knicks, already known as a physical team, are going to have to come up with some new tricks to slow Embiid, who scored 50 points in Game 3 to give the 76ers their first win of the series. And they might have to do it without Robinson on the floor.

Though it’s not clear that Embiid’s flagrant 1 on Robinson was the play in which he sprained his left ankle, Robinson clearly was hobbled on the court afterward. He did not play in the second half, left the arena in a walking boot and did not practice on Saturday.

If the Knicks weren’t already livid about the officiating in Game 3, they then had to contrast it with the officiating in Friday’s playoff contests. Those games featured three ejections, including a flagrant 2 on the Suns’ Josh Okogie, whose foul from behind on Rudy Gobert seemed far less intentional than Embiid’s flagrant 1. ESPN’s broadcast team for the Suns-Timberwolves game even took note of the decision, saying, “We know what Knicks fans are thinking.”

We also know what Thibodeau is thinking, though he walks a fine line when it comes to officiating because he can be fined. It’s clear he believes that his team was not treated fairly in Game 3 and is doing what he can to prevent it from becoming a turning point in the series.

“I’m not a journalist, but if I were a journalist, I’d write a couple things,” Thibodeau said. “But it is what it is. I said what I said the other day. It’s gone. Get ready for the game. I think the consistency — look at that play and then look at the Josh Hart play in Chicago. That’s my thing.”

In a game against Chicago early in April, Hart was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected in the first quarter when he kicked Javonte Greene in the head as he was going up for a ball. That foul also looked more inadvertent than Embiid’s.

Of course, whining about officiating is nothing new in the NBA, especially in this playoff series. The 76ers, who complained about the lack of calls at the end of Game 2, don’t plan to change anything about their game plan.

“I don’t think it’s dirty,” Kelly Oubre said of Embiid’s play. “Joel has to protect himself. At the end of the day, I’m not going to comment on what they are commenting on. At the end of the day, they’re going to hit. We hit back and then they cried. Vice versa or whatever the case might be.

“Let’s just hoop. Go out there and play hard. No one’s going to fight. This isn’t WWE. So at the end of the day, stand on the stuff you all say. We’ll see how you react.”

Donte DiVincenzo, who exchanged words with Embiid after the takedown of Robinson, said the Knicks will be ready.

“We’re not a dirty team,” DiVincenzo said. “We’re here to play ball. And our identity is playing physical, but we’re not here to be dirty or do anything like that. We’re here to play ball and get a win.”

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.