After Sixers win, Joel Embiid explains dust-up with Nets’ Nic Claxton
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PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a wild 137-133 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday in a game that featured a lot of emotions.
The big focus was obviously on Joel Embiid vs. Ben Simmons in terms of individual matchups, but Embiid got into it with another Net: Nic Claxton.
Embiid and Claxton were jawing with each other toward the end of the first quarter and they picked up a double technical foul. It was a part of an emotional start of the game that featured four total technical fouls in the opening quarter.
“He said something he shouldn’t have,” Embiid afterward. “That’s why when I walked up to his face, I told him to say it to my face again. That’s why he looked away and he didn’t say it again because he knows why.”
Embiid used to engage in those types of confrontations on a regular basis, but he hasn’t recently. He has shown a lot more restraint and focused on what he can do to help his team win games.
However, whatever Claxton said, he couldn’t let it slide.
“There’s not a lot of times when I get in those situations,” Embiid added. “I’m not going to allow any sort of disrespect and that’s why he couldn’t say to my face again.”
Joel Embiid and Nic Claxton have a chat and end up with double technicalspic.twitter.com/7yLCBoXz7Q
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 26, 2023
Coach Doc Rivers did say he believes his team got a little too emotional considering everything that was going on.
“There’s a difference between intensity, playing with emotion, and being too emotional,” said Rivers. “I thought, our side of it, we were on the wrong side of that a lot and we’ll take the win. Both teams are coming from a west coast trip, you didn’t know how that was going to go. I thought both teams performed well, but that’s a good test for us. We have to be better as far as handling our emotions.”
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Player grades: Joel Embiid, Sixers defeat Ben Simmons, Nets at home
