NBA Rumors: 76ers’ Joel Embiid Won’t Be Suspended for G3 Play vs. Knicks’ Robinson

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will not be suspended for his flagrant foul on New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson in Game 3 of their first-round series.

Embiid received a Flagrant 1 foul for pulling down Robinson as he went up for a dunk in the first quarter of the Sixers’ 125-114 victory. The Knicks ripped Embiid after the game, with guard Donte DiVincenzo calling the play “dirty.”

Embiid said he was not trying to injure Robinson but was instead trying to protect himself.

“Obviously Mitchell Robinson jumping and trying to land, trying to make sure he doesn’t land on me because obviously we know the history that I have with Kuminga landing on my knee,” Embiid said. “So I kind of had some flashbacks, when he came down to it.

“It was unfortunate. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody. I just … in those situations I gotta protect myself, because I’ve been in way too many situations where I’m always the recipient of the bad end of it. So yeah, it was unfortunate, but physical game. They want to bring the physicality. We can be physical too, and we are. So it goes both ways. I get bumped all over the place, and I just keep playing and I’m not going to take it. I gotta keep my mind and make sure that I don’t get outside myself. But yeah, I just gotta keep being myself, being aggressive and physical.”

Embiid dominated in Game 3, putting up 50 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He’s the first player in NBA history to score 50 points in a playoff game while taking less than 20 shots.

Robinson was hobbled by the foul and only played 12 minutes, finishing with two points and seven rebounds. He is currently listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 matchup in Philadelphia.

The NBA has not announced a fine for Embiid, so it’s unlikely he will receive any type of punishment at this point.