Russell Westbrook’s feud with Patrick Beverley may be over, but his feud with Joel Embiid is still going as strong as ever.
With his Los Angeles Lakers trailing Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers 113-112 in the closing seconds of Sunday’s game, Westbrook made a real Larry, Moe, and Curly show out of his team’s final possession. With Lakers head coach Darvin Ham opting not to call timeout after a defensive stop, Westbrook tried to isolate on Embiid. He then proceeded to lose the handle, recover and pull it back, then dribble wildly towards the paint before chucking an erratic apparent pass attempt that splatted off the rim. Time expired, and the Lakers lost.
LIVE BY WESTBROOK, DIE BY WESTBROOKhttps://t.co/UuwxYJmnXx pic.twitter.com/ODUWYbZTTR
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 16, 2023
After the game, Westbrook told reporters that Embiid fouled him on that final possession by grabbing his right wrist, per Lakers writer Kyle Goon.
Video footage and screenshots showing Embiid indeed making clear contact with Westbrook’s arm on the last play would later make the rounds online.
Embiid grabs Westbrook's wrist on final posession pic.twitter.com/Ac2o4jmPiU
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) January 16, 2023
https://twitter.com/RunnelsIi/status/1614856773176811520
Joel Embiid got away with this grab on Russell Westbrook's final play 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/BGSafjfaLL
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) January 16, 2023
For his part, Embiid (predictably) denied fouling Westbrook on the play and fired back at Westbrook’s calls for a foul by pointing out that Westbrook had also bumped him on the preceding 76ers possession with no call.
“I don’t think I fouled him,” Embiid said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Physical play on both sides. You could have called a foul on the other end, too, on the bump. So, it goes both ways … [Westbrook] was actually unlucky because he lost the ball and then from there, he kind of had nothing else going. Yeah, I would say it was unlucky.”
The NBA released their last two-minute report for the game on Monday and, for what it’s worth, doubled down on there being no foul on the play. Instead, Embiid’s arm grab was deemed “marginal” contact.
The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report for Lakers-Sixers determined that Joel Embiid did not foul Russell Westbrook on LAL’s final possession Sunday. pic.twitter.com/koCnWRo5yK
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 16, 2023
While there was indeed contact on the play, referees tend to holster their whistles on the final possession of a game. To blame the referees is also to excuse the multiple boneheaded decisions made by the Lakers there — by Westbrook for isolating against Embiid instead of passing it out to LeBron James for the final shot and by Ham for not calling a timeout, even when things starting going south on the play.
As for Westbrook and Embiid, they have not liked each other for years, even dating back to Westbrook’s time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sunday’s controversial finish won’t do much to thaw out their icy relationship either.
