Sure enough, after the referees spent a full five minutes reviewing the footage and then held a brief discussion, they ultimately decided to call a foul on Pang Bo.
The referee explained, "Pang was inside the restricted area when the offensive player violated his cylinder. That is permitted by the rules. But while the offensive player, Embiid, was shooting with the ball, Pang Bo's arm made contact with his. That is considered a hand-checking foul. Pang Bo has accumulated six fouls and is disqualified."
As soon as the referee announced the call, the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.
"Yes!"
"That gorilla finally fouled out!"
"Without him, our players can drive to the basket whenever they want! Someone like Morant can just burst in and dunk!"
Meanwhile, in the livestream chat, Raptors fans were wailing.
"Damn, Embiid's such a foul-baiting rat!"
"With Pang Bo fouled out, it's going to be even harder for the Raptors."
"The Sky Net Formation without Pang Bo—is it even the Sky Net anymore?"
"Who's replacing Pang Bo? Kim Tae-hyun or Charlie Hannum? They'd struggle to get off the bench on other teams. Putting them up against the Celtics' Big Four now would just be asking to get destroyed, wouldn't it?"
Xu Jingyu angrily pounded the table again and again. "We're screwed, we're screwed! Embiid, you're a grown man who's seven feet tall. Why are you always baiting fouls? If you've got what it takes, then create some space and play straight up! We'd accept it if Pang Bo fouled out playing straight up. What kind of nonsense is this foul-baiting?"
Xu Jingyu wasn't the only one. Many Raptors fans, Wang Yi fans, and Pang Bo fans were cursing Embiid.
"If you've got what it takes, challenge him one-on-one! What's with all this foul-baiting?"
"You lean into