SUMMARY
- Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nick Nurse charged at the Sixers-Clippers game officials over a no call.
- Both individuals were fined $50,000 for verbally confronting the referees.
Kelly Oubre Jr. has been quite the impactful player for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Despite it being his first year, the forward has gelled along with the team quite well. However, every team has one player who shows a lot of passion on the floor. For the Sixers, it is the 28-year-old forward. Kelly is known for the charisma and style he plays on the floor.
This time, things got heated towards the end of the Sixers vs LA Clippers game. After Kawhi Leonard accumulated three points to get the lead over the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey was fouled on the other end while driving to the basket. The Sixers weren’t given free throws but were made to inbound the ball from the sidelines. Oubre Jr. caught the ball and went in for the drive while making heavy contact with Leonard and Paul George.
While this would have been automatic free throws in any other situation, the officials decided not to call it. This left Nick Nurse and Kelly Oubre Jr. furious. Both of them charged towards the officials. Sources claim that they verbally abused the officials leading the NBA to slap them each with a $50,000 fine.
Kelly Oubre Jr. levels with the officials
While Kelly Oubre Jr. spoke to the media in the locker room, it seemed he had some time to cool off. He claimed that it was an honest mistake from the official’s side. Oubre Jr. said, “The thing is, there was absolutely contact. But they were calling those calls for those guys [the Clippers]. They were getting and ones, they were changing the game’s aspect. And we get down to our side and it’s like they didn’t even see any contact.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. provides context into the frustrating final possession: pic.twitter.com/GdsKb49qSR
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 28, 2024
He added, “But I barely touched them on the other end and they still called it. It was just like, uneven in a sense. But like I said, I’m not here to get on any refs or any decisions ’cause they’re human beings, as well as I am.” Unfortunately, the Sixers had to take a bitter loss against the Clippers 108-107. Had the officials called the foul, Oubre Jr. could’ve either tied the game or ended it there.
Referee Kevin Scott admits Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nick Nurse were right
Interestingly, though it may have looked like Kelly Oubre Jr. and the Sixers’ head coach took things a little too far, one of the officials eventually revealed that they made a mistake. Referee Kevin Scott stated in a pool report, “In real-time, the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically. However, in the post-game video review, we did observe some slight drift to his left by the defender George, and a foul should have been ruled.”
Here’s the postgame pool report by @PompeyOnSixers with referee Kevin Scott where it is admitted a foul should have been called on the game’s final play on the drive by Kelly Oubre: pic.twitter.com/1MRuJilOi5
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 28, 2024
In other words, the Sixers lost a game due to human error. Oubre Jr. eventually apologized for charging at the referees. “In the heat of the moment in an intense basketball game of course and we’re not perfect. The refs are not perfect. I want to apologize for losing my cool,” he said. This loss may have stung deep for the Sixers. Losing a game in such a manner just leaves us with a “What if” to pinder
