Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler sat at a podium Saturday night having a good laugh at the Nets’ expense. The 76ers had just taken a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series against the Nets in a game in which Embiid scored 31 points and Butler added inspiration by getting ejected in the third quarter.
Asked why he joined Embiid for the postgame presser, Butler offered, “So he don’t do nothing stupid while he’s up here. We all know he’s a trolling son of gun. I’m just here to protect my big fella.”
There were plenty of chuckles, but protecting Embiid went a long way in the Sixers escaping Barclays Center with a 112-108 victory in Game 4. It sends the best-of-seven series back to Philadelphia for Game 5 Tuesday with the Sixers in command.
It was Butler who rushed to Embiid’s defense with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter, when Embiid was pushed from behind by Nets forward Jared Dudley after Embiid had dropped Jarrett Allen with a hard foul.
A brief melee ensued, with bodies crashing into fans seated along the baseline. Embiid received a flagrant foul but stayed in the game, while Butler and Dudley were ejected. The Nets got the poor end of the deal as Embiid went on to dominate the fourth quarter. He added 16 rebounds, six blocked shots and seven assists to his 12-of-22 shooting.
“He’s a nobody,” Embiid told TNT of Dudley. “And when opponents try to do stuff like that, that’s just to get us out of the game. Especially, I’m too valuable for my team. That’s why I didn’t react.”
“He’s our best player, the most dominating big in the game,” said Sixers forward Tobias Harris. “We just had to let him go eat out there.”
The Sixers didn’t want to lose Butler, who reacted instinctively when Dudley chest-bumped Embiid. But it was better than losing Embiid.
“I just don’t think you should run up on anybody like that,” said Butler, who left with 11 points. “We got a W, that’s all I’m worried about.”
Embiid said he was surprised he was assessed a flagrant foul, his second of the series. “I thought I got all ball,” he said.
He wasn’t surprised there was some sort of confrontation in Game 4.
“I know these guys are going to go at me because they want me to retaliate,” he said. “I’ve got to be the mature one on the court and stay cool and not react. I could have reacted, but I felt like my team needed me more than they needed Jared Dudley. I just had to stay cool and mature and do my job.”
It all backfired on the Nets. They lost Dudley’s defensive presence and Embiid became the focal point of the Sixers’ offense, destroying the Nets inside with his massive 7-foot frame. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including eight straight at one point to give the Sixers their first lead since the first quarter at 102-101.
“He was dominant,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown.
The outcome left the Nets demoralized. They hurt their own cause with an inexcusable turnover on an inbound play with 49 seconds remaining and Allen losing the ball under his own basket with 4.8 seconds left. They leave Brooklyn after losing two games at home, including Game 3 when Embiid didn’t play.
More than anything, the Nets showed their lack of playoff experience. They played well for much of the game, taking a 91-85 lead into the fourth. But Dudley didn’t need to shove Embiid and risk ejection to get his point across. And the Nets’ execution in the final minute was borderline horrendous. Now they head to Philadelphia, where Embiid is looking to close out the series.
“It feels great to be up 3-1,” he said. “We definitely don’t want to be in a situation like the Warriors two years ago. We want to be able to close it out at home.”
The Warriors blew a 3-to-1 lead against Cleveland in the 2016 Finals. That notion apparently didn’t sit still with Butler, who immediately exited the podium (smiling) while Embiid had a deep belly laugh: All at the Nets’ expense.