CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff wasted no time. He’d carried the anger with him since the buzzer sounded and needed to get it off his chest.
His first comments after Cleveland’s 112-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night — a stinging loss that pushes the Cavs 2.5 games back from Chicago to be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and just a game and a half ahead of the rising Atlanta Hawks No. 7 – wasn’t about the team’s inability to contain Joel Embiid, a startling inbounds error in the dying seconds, Lamar Stevens’ late-season offensive boost, or Moses Brown admirably filling in for injured Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley .
Bickerstaff targeted three people – Sean Wright, Karl Lane and John Butler. They were Sunday’s officiating crew.
“We deserved to win the game. This game was taken from us,” said Bickerstaff in a crackling voice. “We did a great job defensively and made it difficult for their two best players from the field. But one thing you can’t defend is the free throw line. That’s absurd. That’s absurd. Our boys deserve a lot more than what they got tonight.”
MVP candidate Joel Embiid, questionable with a sore ankle, dominated after a cool, frustrating start. Embiid had a game-high 44 points remaining with 17 rebounds and five blocks in 38 minutes. With him on the court, the 76ers beat Cleveland by 16 points. Embiid is always a handful. But Bickerstaff believes Embiid gratuitously helped make a whopping 20 free throws and make 17 of them. It’s the third most attempts he’s had in a game all season.
James Harden, on the other hand, was an ugly 4-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-7 at range. He saved his night – recording another triple-double – thanks in large part to 12 walks to the foul line. Eleven of his 21 points went there.
“It was the rhythm of the night,” Bickerstaff said. “They’re great players, aren’t they? They understand how to play through the rules and they know how to manipulate the rules. That’s not a slap or disrespect to these guys. But the game has to be consistent at both ends of the parquet. There’s contact at one end, it’s a foul. Contact at the other end, it must be a foul. Tonight we were looking for that consistency and I don’t think we ever found it.”
Bickerstaff is known for scolding officers. He usually stands the entire game, often throwing up his hands in disgust or stomping on the floor after missing a call. Assistant coach Greg Buckner withdraws Bickerstaff or stands between Bickerstaff and an umpire. He screams so much that his voice is hoarse after every game and needs Throat Coat to recover.
Despite this, he is usually a bit more discreet in media sessions.
Hours before Sunday’s tip, he laughed and jokingly asked a reporter if it was a staging as he became aware of the increased whistles in recent months. Bickerstaff hesitated before answering, not wanting to cross a line. After the game, he threw the concern out the window. The proverbial gloves came off and he started swinging. Bickerstaff might as well start writing the check to the league office right away. There is a risk of a fine.
As Bickerstaff explained, it was less about 32 combined free throw attempts for Embiid and Harden. Or the 42 overall for the Sixers, about 18 more than their season average. Or the 28-19 foul discrepancy. Or Philly is plus-11 on strip attempts. It was a collection of questionable one-sided whistles during a physical duel with playoff-like intensity. One call in particular left Bickerstaff particularly upset — and he doesn’t have to wait for the Last Two Minute Report or rewatch the replay to know he was missed.
The game that was in limbo, along with Cleveland’s chances of avoiding the play-in tournament, was down by one. All-star point guard Darius Garland used a Lamar Stevens screen to get rid of the pesky Matisse Thybulle. Garland charged Embiid, went off the lane to the right, made contact and threw up an off balance Leaner that missed all but the glass.
Garland screamed in disbelief as he hit the hardwood. Harden corralled the rebound. Embiid was credited with his fifth block.
“Darius was fouled. It’s easy. He was fouled,” Bickerstaff said. “I don’t know what else – he did his job, got in his place and got fouled. No whistle.”
Garland didn’t speak after the game.
“The ball is in Darius’ hands and he has the ability to do all these shots,” Bickerstaff said of the look. “You pull Embiid away from the basket first and then give him the opportunity to attack, I like Darius’ chances there. He has proven time and time again that he can take that shot.”
After the game, Stevens cautiously walked to the podium. He mentioned the game’s physicality, admitting his body ached after numerous collisions, including some with Embiid.
“He’s like a truck,” Stevens said of Embiid. “He’s the tallest person I’ve ever seen in my life. Well, he’s so good at moving and doing the things he does.
“I think we definitely had some adversity today. But that’s how it goes sometimes. If you are a young and aspiring team these are just some of the things you will have to go through. I think that just speaks to the character of the team. Believe in each other and focus on controlling what we can control. That’s all we can all do.”
Despite what the Cavs saw against them on Sunday night, they still had chances. They were just three down after Harden conceded two more free throws from Garland’s (fouled?) miss. But veteran Kevin Love, who came on specifically as an inbounder, threw an errant pass that was caught by Thybulle, who then made a push-ahead pass from his butt to Tobias Harris for the deciding dunk.
Bickerstaff credited Philly’s defense with making the angle difficult. But the game was not lost for him.
“It just got to the point of being untenable and you can’t guard the free-throw line,” he said.
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