The NBA world has been left stunned after Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid escaped an ejection despite kicking an opponent in the groin during a heated playoff clash.
Embiid kicked out at Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton in the opening quarter of game three in the first-round series after Claxton had stood over him following an alley-oop dunk.
The referees assessed the play but allowed Embiid to stay in the game, with the MVP favourite's kick assessed as a flagrant foul penalty one instead of a flagrant two which would've seen him ejected. Claxton was given a technical foul for stepping over Embiid.
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Nets fans booed after the decision, angry that the two-time scoring champion was not thrown out.
Fans on social media were left bewildered by the decision to leave Embiid in the game after Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected and then suspended for a game for a similar incident.
NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were also baffled by the apparent double-standard from the league.
"I think it's the same thing from the other night," O'Neal said on TNT's coverage.
https://twitter.com/Carter_Shade/status/1649197225359155204https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1649197466464714753https://twitter.com/JoshEberley/status/1649197127606894592https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1649197195059494919"This is where I have a problem, what is the law? It looks the same. Draymond kicked down, he kicked up. What's the rule?
"I've seen something like this the other day, but the guy was ejected and suspended."
"I think his is worse than Draymond's," Barkley added.
"He tried to kick a guy in the junk. He tried to kick him in his private parts, that's just my opinion."
Green was thrown out of game two against the Sacramento Kings earlier this week and then suspended for game three after stepping on Kings centre Domantas Sabonis.
The defending champion Warriors head into game three in San Francisco on Friday afternoon down 0-2 in the series.
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The NBA world has been left stunned after Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid escaped an ejection despite kicking an opponent in the groin during a heated playoff clash.
Embiid kicked out at Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton in the opening quarter of game three in the first-round series after Claxton had stood over him following an alley-oop dunk.
The referees assessed the play but allowed Embiid to stay in the game, with the MVP favourite's kick assessed as a flagrant foul penalty one instead of a flagrant two which would've seen him ejected. Claxton was given a technical foul for stepping over Embiid.
READ MORE: Latrell shoots death stare at Origin teammate
READ MORE: Teen star stuns Olympic champ Titmus in 200m final
READ MORE: Joey's shock 'bolter' to replace injured Origin star
Nets fans booed after the decision, angry that the two-time scoring champion was not thrown out.
Fans on social media were left bewildered by the decision to leave Embiid in the game after Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected and then suspended for a game for a similar incident.
NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were also baffled by the apparent double-standard from the league.
"I think it's the same thing from the other night," O'Neal said on TNT's coverage.
https://twitter.com/Carter_Shade/status/1649197225359155204https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1649197466464714753https://twitter.com/JoshEberley/status/1649197127606894592https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1649197195059494919"This is where I have a problem, what is the law? It looks the same. Draymond kicked down, he kicked up. What's the rule?
"I've seen something like this the other day, but the guy was ejected and suspended."
"I think his is worse than Draymond's," Barkley added.
"He tried to kick a guy in the junk. He tried to kick him in his private parts, that's just my opinion."
Green was thrown out of game two against the Sacramento Kings earlier this week and then suspended for game three after stepping on Kings centre Domantas Sabonis.
The defending champion Warriors head into game three in San Francisco on Friday afternoon down 0-2 in the series.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
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