The New York Knicks took a 3-1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers with a 97-92 victory. Ben Stiller was among the many fans glued to Sunday’s action.
The actor and die-hard Knicks supporter tweeted throughout New York’s Game 4 triumph. Among his many posts, he seemed to question the ESPN broadcast’s commentary about Joel Embiid.
“Richard Jefferson claiming Embiid doesn’t get calls, and doesn’t foul,” Stiller wrote.
Stiller appeared to disagree with that sentiment during the first half of a contentious series. Jefferson later defended himself to the Meet The Parents star on social media.
It seems clear Stiller has a bigger gripe with the referees than Jefferson.
“Benjamin I love you,” Jefferson replied. “But that’s not what I said!”
“Respect Richard. But Embiid gets SO many calls,” Stiller retorted. “And the reference was to the one foul that [Nicolas] Batum did commit.”
Stiller’s admission that he was reacting to a play involving a 76ers teammate baffled Jefferson, who used a GIF of Stiller as Arturo Mendes saying “of course” in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
“So you were referencing when we THOUGHT it was on Embiid but the VIDEO and REFS showed in was on Batum and we corrected it and you were bothered by that? Ps… he does get a lot of calls as reigning MVP’s often do,” Jefferson wrote.
Stiller’s gripe with officiating traces back to Game 3’s loss. After receiving a common foul for seemingly hitting Isaiah Hartenstein in a sensitive area, Embiid got a flagrant one foul (a flagrant two merits an automatic ejection) for a dangerous play in the first quarter.
While on the ground, Embiid grabbed Mitchell Robinson’s leg. The Knicks big man missed Game 4 with an ankle injury.
The Severance creator shared a quote from The Athletic’s Fred Katz wondering if Embiid would have gotten tossed if he wasn’t an MVP playing in the postseason. Stiller also re-tweeted Katz reporting that Knicks forward Josh Hart called the play “reckless.”
During his exchange with the ESPN analyst, Stiller told Jefferson that Embiid should have gotten ejected. The former New Jersey Nets star agreed, but he wasn’t working that game to voice that opinion in the booth.
The Knicks can advance to the second round with a Game 5 home victory on Tuesday night.