The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers by completing a decisive 12-1 run late in the fourth quarter, though the team had to do it without the services of point guard Eric Bledsoe, who was ejected in the first quarter after getting into a scuffle with Joel Embiid.
After the game ended, the NBA Officials page tweeted out an explanation on why Bledsoe was tossed from the game. Bledsoe, for his part, was not overly amped about what the refs had to say:
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) April 5, 2019
At this point, all players in the NBA must know that Embiid is a master irritant, and he has been known to get under the skin of any number of players. Some of his favorite targets in recent memory have been Russell Westbrook and Marcus Smart, the latter of which got ejected in the most recent Celtics-76ers matchup.
Though Bledsoe’s ejection might have helped Philadelphia in the abstract, it could have also lit a fire under the Bucks and inspired them to want to win this game even more. No matter which way you look at it, the Bucks managed to pull out this game. Their victory solidifies Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP candidacy, and it also gives the Bucks home-court advantage throughout the playoffs by clinching the best record in the league.
That’s important, since the Bucks are an NBA-best 32-6 in the team’s new Fiserv Forum.