Joel Embiid was not playing games with the Boston Celtics’ bench.
During the first half of Saturday’s Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., Embiid tried to retrieve the ball that landed on the home team’s bench. However, a Celtics staff member appeared to make it harder than it should be for the former league Most Valuable Player to collect the leather
Embiid aggressively tried to get the ball as a referee slapped the Celtics with a delay-of-game call.
Here is a video of that moment.
The Celtics' bench was called for a delay of game for not giving Embiid and the Sixers the ball. 😳 pic.twitter.com/i4ru2lqCb9
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 2, 2026
Embiid is all business in Boston, with the 76ers looking to pull off a stunning come-from-behind series win. The 76ers lost three of the first four games of this first-round matchup before taking Game 5 and Game 6 to force a Game 7 in Beantown.
To get this far, the 76ers needed Embiid to recover from a recent emergency appendectomy just in time to see action in Game 5.
The 32-year-old Embiid entered Game 7 with series averages of 26.0 points on 43.5% shooting, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists for the 76ers, who put together a 45-37 record in the regular season.
