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"The referees f---ing suck," the All-Star
center said during his postgame press conference on Tuesday.
Embiid tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds, but he was whistled
for five personal fouls as Philadelphia fell to 0-3 this season
against Boston.
The Celtics are 10-2 against the Sixers since the start of last
season, including a 4-1 series victory in the 2018 Eastern
Conference semifinals.
Embiid's frustration was fueled by a sequence in the closing
seconds of Tuesday's 112-109 loss. He missed a potential
game-tying jumper after Boston center Al Horford appeared to hit
his arm. There was no call from the officials.
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward praised Horford's defense against
Embiid.
"Al's a smart defender, so I think he's able to use spacing and
angles and really kind of knows when to gap and when to get up
to him," Hayward said. "He's also just a tough defender, like
taking bumps, not getting backed all the way down and then still
being long enough to contest his jump shots."
Before expressing his colorful thoughts on the referees, Embiid
said Horford's defense was nothing special.
"He's not doing anything," Embiid said. "I was sleep-walking for
three quarters, and that's on me. Like I said, that's on me. It
had nothing to do with anybody."
The Sixers and Celtics began Wednesday tied for fourth place in
the Eastern Conference. They meet for the final time in the
regular season on March 20 in Philadelphia.
--Field Level Media
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