As time ran out in the 76ers' Game 2 win over the Raptors, cameras captured an exchange between Sixers MVP candidate Joel Embiid and Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.
having a nice chat pic.twitter.com/hUyDq0xsTH
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 19, 2022
Unless you're extremely proficient in lip reading, it's difficult to make out what either party is saying, save for Nurse saying "pardon?" and Embiid making use of the word, "fouls," which makes sense given Nurse's action of putting his hands up as if he were on defense.
Naturally, both Nurse and Embiid were asked about the exchange postgame. Aside from the fact that they acknowledged the conversation was about foul calls, they shared very different parts of the conversation with the media.
"(Embiid) was saying to me that (he's) going to keep making all the free throws if (we) keep fouling (him)," Nurse said, per TSN's Josh Lewenberg. "I said you might have to."
While Embiid may have mentioned to Nurse that he was going to continue make free throws, he shared a different part of his message to Nurse with reporters, sharing that he told him "respectfully, to stop b––ing about fouls because I saw what he said last game," per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Embiid added that he has a great amount of respect for Nurse, but wanted to speak up about the foul discourse.
After Game 1, Nurse told reporters that "if we're legal defensively, we've gotta have a call, or we don't have a chance. Nobody can guard that guy if they're gonna let him run you over.
Nurse sang a similar tune prior to Game 2, telling reporters that in Game 1 "there were several shots to the face that weren't reviewed and I don't know why. I hope they've got enough guts to stop the game and look at that."
"We've gotta survive some of the physicality out there...There were several shots to the face, which I don't understand were not reviewed," Nick Nurse priming the refs early. "I hope they've got enough guts to stop the game and look at that."
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 18, 2022
In Game 2, Embiid finished with 31 points, going 9-of-16 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line, but 12 of his 14 free throw attempts came in the opening frame. The Raptors shot 12 free throws for the game.
Given the free throw story in Game 2, the conversation between Nurse and Embiid was likely a combination of what they both shared with the media.
Game 3 of the series between the Raptors and 76ers is set for Wednesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. ET.
