The Nets appear unhappy with how MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid was officiated in their Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Embiid scored 26 points and shot 7-of-15 from the field, but he did a large chunk of his damage at the foul line, making all 11 of his attempts on the night.
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said admitted turnover woes and a lack of three-point shooting were the driving factors in Brooklyn’s series-opening loss.
“But hopefully they’ll be calling a travel and three seconds on the big fella next game,” Vaughn said postgame. “So I’ll look forward to that.”
Vaughn also said officials missed an out-of-bounds call on Embiid seconds before both he and Nets wing Royce O’Neale got tangled up. Embiid shoved O’Neale in the chest twice, and officials assessed double technical fouls to both.
“Equal opportunity I think it was. They wanted to give one to one guy, so they gave it to the other guy,” Vaughn said. “If they would have called the out-of-bounds first, then we wouldn’t have gotten to that play. Joel was out of bounds on that play anyway, and then we got to the altercation.”
Seth Curry scored 10 points on four-of-five shooting in just 16 minutes off the bench. He did not play at all, however, in the third quarter.
Vaughn said he limited Curry’s minutes because the Nets need to have at least one of their core players — Spencer Dinwididie, Mikal Bridges or Cam Johnson — on the floor at all times.
“When we go with lineups having Joe [Harris], Seth, Day’Ron Sharpe in at the same time, we tried some zone,” Vaughn explained postgame. “We also have to be in a position where we can rebound with that group. So it’s really just mixing and matching, getting Mikal/CJ/Spencer in there with one of those. So that way we’re not loaded too heavy with those three at the same time.”
Bridges is from Philadelphia, played basketball at Villanova and was drafted by the 76ers before his trade to the Phoenix Suns. He said there were no jitters or excitement playing in front of his hometown fans.
“Nah, not really. I’m just so locked in just being in the playoffs and trying to win,” he said. “Obviously it’s nice to be home, easy for my family to get here, but I think that whole Philly thing, with the whole trade thing, it kinda passed. It’s been five years, so life goes on.”
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