Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse did not hide his frustrations over what he and his team felt over what they deemed was a grave non-call near the end of Wednesday night’s home game against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
With the 76ers trailing the Clippers by just a point, Kelly Oubre Jr. tried to attack the basket but was challenged by LA’s Paul George. Nurse and the Sixers believed there was enough contact from George to warrant a whistle, but none was blown, leading to Nurse and Oubre angrily charging at the referees. The game ended with the Clippers on top, 104-103.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Nick Nurse Speaks Up on Wild Ending Vs. Clippers
After the game. Nurse doubled down on his stance that a foul should have been called on George.
“I thought there was certainly contact. I thought there was enough contact to call. But we turned it over twice at the end,” Nurse told reporters during the postgame press conference (via NBC Philadelphia’s John Clark).
What makes the loss even tougher to swallow for the 76ers was the postgame admission by the refs, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
NBA refereee Kevin Scott on the final play of the Sixers vs. Clippers game: “On the last play on the floor, in real time the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically. However, in post-game video review we did observe some slight drift to his left by the defender George, and a foul should have been ruled.”
The 76ers are still fighting for one of the six guaranteed playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, but back-to-back losses to the Sacramento Kings and the Clippers hurt Philly’s chances to do just that. Nevertheless, the Sixers are still just 1.5 games out of the top six in the East heading into a showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road this Friday.
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