PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid, the superstar forward for the Philadelphia 76ers, was ejected during the first half of their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, which ended with a score of 111-106 in favor of the 76ers. Embiid received two technical fouls, leading to his dismissal from the game.
The incident occurred with just under three minutes remaining in the second quarter when referee Jenna Schroeder issued the ejection. Embiid first earned a technical foul for disputing a call made by Schroeder, and shortly thereafter, he received a second technical, resulting in his removal from the game. Crew chief Curtis Blair later explained to the media that Embiid made incidental contact with Schroeder, and both infractions were classified as unsportsmanlike behavior.
After being ejected, Embiid exhibited frustration, attempting to approach the officials before being calmed down by teammates Kyle Lowry, head coach Nick Nurse, and support staff. Unfortunately, this has been a challenging season for Embiid. This game marked just his eighth appearance, as he has missed several games due to left knee soreness, three following a suspension related to a confrontation with a reporter, and another after suffering a sinus fracture on December 10. Monday’s matchup represented one of the rare occasions this season where Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey played together as a starting trio, with Maxey contributing significantly with 32 points and making critical plays in the final moments.
In the game, Embiid donned a protective mask as he made his second appearance since the sinus injury, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds in just over 14 minutes on the court. His shooting performance saw him hit only two of eight attempts. This contest against Spurs’ center Victor Wembanyama came as a stark contrast to their previous face-off last January, where Embiid had set a franchise record with a remarkable 70 points in a victory.
During their first encounter, Embiid showcased extraordinary skills; he shot 24 of 41 from the field and successfully converted 21 of 23 free throw attempts, alongside tallying 18 rebounds and five assists. In their prior game, Wembanyama managed to score 33 points. During Monday’s game, Embiid initially attacked Wembanyama aggressively but struggled to find his rhythm and made a costly offensive foul just before his ejection, which escalated tensions with the officiating crew.
This was not the first ejection of the quarter; earlier, Andre Drummond of the 76ers was also ejected by Schroeder for a supposed foul on Wembanyama, but after reviewing the situation, officials overruled the decision. Following the review, they determined that Drummond unintentionally stepped on Wembanyama’s foot, which led to the foul call, a point echoed by Wembanyama, who described the incident as a mere trip rather than a foul. He noted, “Just stepped on my foot and I fell. That’s it. I just got tripped. I didn’t mean to fall. I didn’t expect the foul to be called. I just fell.”
Embiid, a two-time NBA scoring leader, has been averaging 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists this season, with the 76ers holding a 2-5 record in the games he has participated in thus far.
