Amir Johnson gets an earful from 76ers for bad call

PHILADELPHIA — How’s this for a blown call: Amir Johnson was busted showing Philadelphia 76ers All-Star teammate Joel Embiid his cellphone on the bench late in a Game 1 playoff loss.

Johnson was caught by TV cameras sitting on the bench and scrolling through his phone late in the fourth quarter and the 76ers losing by double digits. Johnson showed Embiid whatever message was on the phone and then slid the device into his warmup pants pocket.

“I just looked down because he said his daughter was extremely sick and he was checking on her,” Embiid said.

The 76ers made the easy call and fined Johnson an unspecified amount for conduct detrimental to the team.
“It’s not something that we are about,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.

Johnson, who averaged 3.9 points in 51 games, was inactive and apologized for his mistake.

“I take full responsibility and will accept the consequences of my actions,” he said. “I also apologize to my teammates, the 76ers organization and the fans for the distraction this has caused.”