National Basketball Association

Did James Harden deserve an ejection vs. Nets — or did Joel Embiid?

Published Apr. 21, 2023 4:16 p.m. ET

The Philadelphia 76ers hung on to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-97 and take a 3-0 lead in the first-round NBA playoff series, but the victory did not come without some controversy surrounding the Sixers' two biggest stars

In the first quarter, Nets center Nic Claxton finished an alley-oop pass over Joel Embiid, then stepped over Embiid — while the NBA MVP finalist seemingly tried to kick Claxton in retaliation. Embiid was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul after review, avoiding a Flagrant 2 foul that would have resulted in the Sixers superstar's automatic ejection from the game.

The NBA rulebook defines a Flagrant 1 foul as "unnecessary contact" by a player against an opponent and a Flagrant 2 foul as "unnecessary and excessive contact."

The two-word difference in the definition of the two penalties came into play again later in the game, when Sixers guard James Harden was handed a Flagrant 2 and ejected for attempting to push off Nets defender Royce O'Neale in the third quarter, making contact with O'Neale's groin area.

Many on social media, including FOX Sports hosts Emmanuel Acho and Nick Wright, protested against Harden's ejections especially in light of Embiid's midler punishment earlier in the game.

"Undisputed" co-host Shannon Sharpe also weighed in Friday morning, saying he believes the punishments for Embiid and Harden should have been flipped.

"I thought James Harden deserved a flagrant 1 because he was making a basketball play," Sharpe said. "What he's trying to do is get [O'Neale's] hand off him, and guess what, his hand wasn't there and [Harden's] hand goes into [O'Neale's] midsection. Joel Embiid, that's not a basketball play. You're laying on the floor, you kick up, it's unnecessary, and it's excessive."

Sharpe also pushed back on Embiid's postgame comments saying that he just "went about my business" because he believed the Nets' gameplan was to frustrate him and get him to commit an ejection-worthy offense.

"You kicked a guy," Sharpe said. "How were you going about your business? Theoretically, they did what they set out to do here. If what you're saying is true — they tried to hit you, get you frustrated, get out of your game to get [yourself ejected] — it worked because you kicked a man. Is that what you normally do in a game, kick someone?"

Did James Harden, Joel Embiid, deserve their punishments in Game 3 win vs. Nets?

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe react to Sixers' win and the controversial officiating around Philadelphia's two superstars.

Harden said after the game that he did not believe his offense even warranted a common foul call, and on "Undisputed" Friday, Skip Bayless agreed, echoing the belief shared by others on social media that Harden's ejection was a make-up call after the lighter penalty on Embiid.

"It felt like the [refereeing] crew was on thin ice, on the edge of their minds, thinking, ‘Oh my God, should we have [ejected Embiid?] Oh, well let’s toss [Harden] and we'll make it all clean. We'll make this up to the Brooklyn Nets and everything will be ok,'" Bayless said.

"For me, having seen James do that 10,000 times in his life, it's part and parcel of his ‘bag.' It's what he does. He uses his off-hand to create a little space. Especially when a Royce O'Neale, as were all the Brooklyn Nets, is getting into your space. … It's just basketball. It's called NBA playoff basketball."

Bayless, however, believed that Embiid should not have been ejected for his kick given what Claxton did to provoke him.

[NBA playoff dispatches: Sixers overcome Embiid struggles, Suns take 2-1 lead]

"Claxton had just dunked on him, had been all over him from the start," Bayless said. "It was clear they were going to play extremely physically with Joel because it's about the only hope they have, and Claxton manages to dunk on him. Then he steps over him, which is the ultimate disrespectful basketball play. … He is glowering down at him, standing over him. You are asking for it."

Later on "The Herd," Colin Cowherd said he agreed with Bayless that Embiid only deserved a flagrant 1 and not an ejection because of the way Claxton straddled him — but also said that the referees were right in ejecting Harden for his move in the third quarter.

By comparison, Cowherd believes that O'Neale's normal defensive position did not deserve what Cowherd called a "punch in the groin" from Harden.

Were Joel Embiid's flagrant, James Harden's ejection the right calls?

Colin Cowherd believes the referees got both big calls right involving Sixers superstars in Thursday's playoff game, and explains why.

"James Harden wasn't creating space, he was being guarded," Cowherd said. "That's not an invasive relationship, that's a player guarding another player. Claxton hovered, tried to intimidate [Embiid] … [O'Neale's move] is just guarding somebody. You see this at the YMCA."

The NBA announced Friday that no further action will be taken against either Embiid or Harden, meaning neither player will be fined and both will be available for Game 4 of the series on Saturday.

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