Why Justise Winslow did not get a technical foul for stepping on Joel Embiid's mask

Josh Peter | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Joel Embiid talks about mask, in-game beef with Justise Winslow The Philadelphia 76ers star discussed his protective face mask he used in his return and the budding beef between himself and the Heat's Justise Winslow.

Justise Winslow could have been charged with a technical foul after he stepped on Joel Embiid’s face mask Thursday night during the Philadelphia 76ers-Miami Heat playoff game and the incident may lead the NBA to review its rule book, a retired NBA referee told USA TODAY Sports.

Danny Crawford, who ended his 32-year tenure as an NBA referee last season, said he watched replays of Winslow, the Heat forward, stepping on the protective face mask after it’d fallen off of Embiid, the 76ers center, in the second quarter of the playoff game.

“My gut was, that’s an unsportsmanlike act,’’ Crawford said Thursday during a phone interview. “And I would have probably thought to give him a technical foul on that.

“But we don’t have any casebook situations at all pertaining to that, so that’s why it doesn’t surprise me at all that if the referees saw it, they didn’t react to it.’’

No foul was called on Winslow, and the play had no impact on the outcome of the game as Philadelphia beat Miami 128-108.

Justise Winslow tried to break Embiid's mask. pic.twitter.com/K9aE91qy2h — Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) April 20, 2018

Embiid, who was wearing a protective face mask because he suffered an orbital fracture three weeks ago, got the mask fixed shortly after Winslow stepped on it and finished the game with a team-high 23 points.

The NBA did not address the matter publicly Thursday night. But NBA protocol calls for all plays from all the games to be reviewed, and the league has publicly addressed controversial plays after they’ve been reviewed.

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Crawford, who later in the interview said he probably would have warned Winslow rather than giving him a technical foul, said it’s likely something the league will discuss. He said the only situation in the NBA’s officiating casebook involving equipment is a rule that prohibits a player from throwing his sneaker in the air to disrupt the shot of another player.

“The reason it’s in the book is that it actually happened,’’ Crawford said with a chuckle. “Now there’s a chance that this situation right here (Winslow stepping on the face mask) could be a casebook question because it’s a good question to ask.

“If you see a player do that intentionally, what can you do?”