The free-throw disparity between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns during their Saturday matchup was not that large. The former got 34 while the latter had 31. However, Dillon Brooks thought the Sixers got away with more than they deserved. He blamed Joel Embiid and the game officials for it.
The Sixers beat the Suns 109-103, with Embiid scoring 33 points. He went to the free throw line 13 times. Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and shot 10-of-11 from the stripes.
Brooks felt they could have done something differently after the loss. He said he should have been assigned to guard the 2023 MVP earlier in the game.
“Maybe start that earlier. I can guard the flopping and all that,” Brooks said when asked by a reporter about his defense late in the fourth (via Duane Rankin of AZ Central).
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Brooks then turned his attention to the referees, whom he accused of helping Embiid and the Sixers.
“[Embiid] went to the line 13 times. It’s a lot, especially for stuff that’s not even a shooting foul. It’s a great crew of refs that were reffing the game for Philly tonight,” Brooks continued.
Brooks was not the only Suns player to speak out against Embiid’s flopping on Sunday. Devin Booker, who returned from a seven-game absence due to an ankle sprain, got into a heated exchange with the 2023 MVP before the halftime buzzer. He thought Embiid fell down intentionally to fish for a foul call.
Booker said postgame that he called out his former Team USA teammate for flopping, though he emphasized that everything is fine between them and that he has great respect for Embiid.