Joel Embiid Calls On Raptors Coach Nick Nurse To Stop Complaining To Refs

Joel Embiid is never scared of a little bad blood, and this time, his target is Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.

After Embiid and the 76ers went up 2-0 in their playoff series against Toronto on Monday night, the star big man had some words for Nurse.

Specifically, Joel Embiid is sick and tired of hearing Nick Nurse complain to the referees throughout the course of the games.

“He’s a great coach,” Embiid said to ESPN. “Obviously, he’s been able to accomplish [a lot] and always been a big fan.

“But, I told him, respectfully, I told him to stop b—-ing about calls.”

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Joel Embiid and Nick Nurse had words for each other at the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/6JihHL5d9A

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Joel Embiid would go on to say that Nick Nurse’s game plan basically calls on the Raptors players to foul him — putting him at the line a lot throughout the game.

“If you’re going to triple-team somebody all game, they are bound to get to the free throw line, or if you’re going to push them off and try to hold them and and all that stuff, they’re bound and get to the free throw line,” Embiid said. “So I feel like every foul was legit and probably should have been more, honestly.”

When pressed on their conversation, Nurse claimed his guys were taking elbows from Embiid in Game One, and that he told the center that he might have to continue making free throws for the rest of the series.

“He was saying to me that, ‘I’m going to keep making all the free throws if you keep fouling,'” Nurse said. “And I said, ‘Well, you might have to.’

“But a good player, man. I got a lot of respect for him. He’s certainly playing great here. There’s nothing there but us trying to compete against him and him trying to compete against us.”

Joel Embiid had a game-high 31 points in Game Two. And if Nick Nurse and the Raptors want to have any chance of coming from behind in this series, they’re likely going to have to find a way to neutralize the MVP candidate.

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