[ad_1]
The NBA fined Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid $35,000 for his actions during an altercation with Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins in Friday night’s Game 6. Hawks center Bruno Fernando was suspended for Sunday’s Game 7 for leaving the bench.
Embiid got docked “for escalating the on-court altercation” by going after Collins “in an unsportsmanlike manner.” The Sixers star also failed to comply with an NBA Security interview after the incident, which happened with just over four minutes to play in the fourth quarter of a 104-99 victory.
ESPN’s Andrew Lopez described the incident like so:
The incident occurred with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter, when Embiid fell onto Collins’ legs after an offensive foul as he was attempting to go up for a basket.
Collins pushed Embiid off him but then Embiid walked into Collins with his hands outstretched as the two went toward the stanchion with teammates from both sides trying to separate them. Fernando then left the bench area during the incident, which occurred near Atlanta’s bench.
Embiid and Collins were both given technical fouls for their actions.
Philly barely hung on to live to see another day after the scrum. The Sixers came into Game 6 off two straight collapses, but they made just enough plays to keep their season alive. Embiid had a clutch bucket after a Trae Young 3-pointer made it a one-point game in the final minutes.
Embiid struggled overall in the win, going for 22 points on 9-of-24 shooting. The big man did have 13 rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive end, but he also turned the ball over eight times. Collins had a quiet night himself with seven points and 10 rebounds.
The loss of Fernando for Game 7 is irrelevant. The Hawks big man has played just three minutes in the postseason and barely played in the regular season.
Source link
