“This is why ratings are down”, wrote one fan as Andre Drummond’s ejection call was reversed during the recent 76ers-Spurs matchup. Criticism about some of the calls made by NBA referees had been present during the previous season and has built on during the ongoing season as well. Only days ago, Anthony Edwards described the calls made against his team as “F—ing terrible.” He also received a fine for doing so. Despite this, with two of his players having faced allegedly wrong calls, the Philadelphia 76ers head coach is not looking to stay silent.

During the post-game presser, Nick Nurse touched base on the referee calls made against Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid. When reporters asked if the back-and-forth with Andre Drummond’s ejection was explained to the head coach, he answered in the negative. This was something that Nurse revealed he needed to understand. After all, as he explained, “The whole thing was really strange, right. I mean, you know, without looking at the tape, to see what was actually going on there, I mean I doubt that he (Wembanyama) was going down, um, because of such aggressive pushing. That there was probably a little bit of uh, whatever, you know what I mean. So, uh, just seemed really strange all three of the calls seem really strange to me. But, on we go”.

During the 2 quarter of the 76ers-Spurs matchup, Andre Drummond had his arms around Wemby as some form of a block. The French star slightly tripped, and the whistle blew. Soon after that, however, Wemby fell completely on his back, causing Drummond to receive a potential technical. Later, as the game went underway, the 76ers star ‘pushed’ Wemby again. This got Drummond straight-out ejected from the game. No sooner had he returned to the locker room when the officials reviewed the call. The officials determined that Victor Wembanyama had ‘flopped’, aka fell intentionally. Drummond donned his jersey again and soon returned to the court.

As punishment for flopping, Wembanyama received a technical foul. In turn, the referees awarded the 76ers a free throw. However, Tyrese Maxey had already shot the technical free throw when the referees reversed the decision again! Another review formed the conclusion that Wembanyama had, in fact, not flopped on the play. The officials took away the free throw.

For Nick Nurse, that back-and-forth would have been frustrating enough. However, things worsened only a few minutes later. As less than three minutes remained in the first half, Embiid attempted to break through Victor Wembanyama’s block. Instead, the French star fell on his back. Embiid was given a charging foul. Not agreeing with this call, the Center went on to argue with the female referee, Jenna Schroeder. This earned him a technical foul, which caused him to be angry. As he reached the 76ers’ bench, the 30-year-old directed obscenities toward Schroeder. This earned Embiid a second technical foul, and it got him thrown out of the game. Not something that 76ers fans would have wanted, especially since the 7x NBA All-Star had recently returned to the court after a long absence.

Despite Embiid’s reaction that got him the technical fouls, Nick Nurse still may have believed that the charging foul called on the player was unwarranted. The back-and-forth with Andre Drummond could also be the same. Thanks to a recent report that analyzed the calls, Nick Nurse and Philadelphia 76ers fans can now gain some clarity.

Amid Jenna Schroder’s message to Nick Nurse, NBA Official explains Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond calls for the Pool Report

After the matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, the officials compiled a Pool Report to get a better understanding of the Technical Fouls and Ejection Calls made during the 2nd Quarter. The same involved a Q&A session between Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Crew Chief Curtis Blair. When Blair was asked about the ejection, and whether Embiid hit the referee, the official replied “After postgame review there is incidental contact with both of them, but it was incidental in nature. There was nothing that warranted any further punishment. It was just incidental in nature.” The ejection was based on Embiid receiving two unsportsmanlike technical fouls.

As for Andre Drummond, “it was determined that Drummond stepped on Wembanyama’s foot and it was deemed incidental contact”. As a result, they called off the flop.

The report makes it clear that the referees’ initial ruling for Andre Drummond was clear. However, after the officials overturned the ejection call, Jenna Schroeder was willing to take responsibility. As highlighted by Hoop Central, she approached Nick Nurse and said “I fu*ked up”. To go from the wrong ejection call apology to not counting the free throw, it was a whirlwind.

Despite everything, the Philadelphia 76ers were still able to secure the win. The squad may have faced more than their fair share of confusion in one game. Hopefully, their next matchup against the Boston Celtics, on Christmas, goes a bit more smoothly.