It was the Philadelphia 76ers who emerged with a 102-97 win after an action-packed encounter against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3. The victory, which has now given the Sixers a 3-0 advantage in this NBA Playoffs first-round series, did not come without incident, though. Joel Embiid nearly got himself ejected early on after a kick to the groin of Nic Claxton, while for his part, James Harden was forced to take an early shower after getting tossed for a groin shot on Royce O'Neale later in the game.

NBA crew chief Tony Brothers has now spoken out about the controversial incidents that characterized Game 3. For starters, the veteran referee claims that the incident involving Embiid and Claxton was not deemed as an ejection-worthy act from the Sixers superstar:

“The contact was deemed unnecessary and based on the point of contact to the leg, it didn't rise to the level of excessive,” Brothers said, via ClutchPoints on Twitter.

Here's a look at Embiid kicking his leg out toward Claxton as the latter stepped over him following an and-1 basket. You be the judge:

Harden wasn't so lucky, though. The Sixers superstar was ejected much later in the contest for a supposedly intentional groin hit on Royce O'Neale:

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According to Tony Brothers, the Sixers guard was at fault on this particular occasion:

“Based on the point of contact directly to the groin, it rose to the level of excessive and ejection,” Brothers said of Harden.

This is all water under the bridge now, though. Ejection or no ejection, the Sixers are now up 3-0 in this series, and the Nets are one loss away from seeing their season come to an end. Nevertheless, this series could have been much, much different if Embiid was ejected in the first quarter.