On March 22, Beijing time, Philadelphia suffered a 16-point reversal by the Raptors in the previous day's game, and Harden's consecutive mistakes in the last moments, especially the key to elbowing Butcher to eat a first-level malicious foul became the key to losing. Now, according to the NBA's official last-minute referee report, there was no wrong judgment or missed judgment, and Harden ate the first-level malicious foul and blew the penalty correctly.
Philadelphia squandered up to 16 points to lead, Harden in the last minute not only had two key missed free throws, but also a series of mistakes to hit the iron, plus harden breakthrough in the last moment to create damage, as long as one shot or two free throw hits, can equalize the score, or even complete 2 +1 can directly counterattack to win.
However, Harden faced Butcher's defense during the breakthrough process, directly swinging his elbow to hit the opponent's face, causing Harden to be blown a first-degree malicious foul, giving the opponent two free throws and one ball, directly leading to Philadelphia's loss. The NBA's official referee report shows that this blow is correct, and the referee report also specifically states that all malicious fouls will be reviewed by the league operations department.
Of course, there are also voices in the public opinion that Philadelphia is deliberately losing, after all, falling to the third place in the East, rather than staying in the second place in the East, will most likely avoid the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.
(Drunken Lying Floating Life)