Philadelphia 76ers outplayed the Raptors Saturday night, but Toronto’s head coach Nick Nurse was not happy with some of the referees decisions in the game.
Nurse talked on the officiating after the end of the game as he thought the refs allowed many ”no-calls” on Joel Embiid. The veteran head coach admitted the Sixers were the better team in Game 1, but he would like to see the officials being more active regarding the foul calls on the Sixers’ superstar.
“I don’t care if you’re 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him to the spot and he runs over, it’s a foul. I thought he threw three or four elbows to the face. He got called for one. OK. I mean, we’re gonna stand in there,” Nurse told reporters.
Embiid shot 5-of-15 from the field and he went 11 times in the free throw line. He also had 15 rebounds and finished the game with 19 points. In a mediocre night offensively for the MVP candidate, the Sixers were carried by Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris in the offensive end.
“We just need, if we’re legal defensively, then we’ve got to have them called or we don’t have a chance, period. Nobody can guard that guy if they’re just gonna let him run you over time and time again,” the 2019 NBA champion continued.
The Raptors’ defense was in trouble on Saturday. In an uncharacteristic game for Toronto, Nick Nurse’s team allowed Philadelphia to score more than 30 points in each of the first three quarters of the game.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points for the Raptors, who lost rookie Scottie Barnes to an ankle injury to worsen what was already a miserable night. OG Anunoby scored 20 and Fred VanVleet added 18.
Siakam said that the Raptors did not match the Sixers’ intensity. Toronto was outrebounded 39-36, including 10-7 on offensive boards, and forced only four Philadelphia turnovers, including none in the first half.
The Raptors will hope to change gear in Game 2 of the series to have the chance to make things hard for the star-studded Sixers.
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