Eric Bledsoe’s comments appear to have made their way into the Philadelphia 76ers locker room.
Bledsoe said earlier in the week he thought the University of Kentucky could beat the hapless Sixers in a seven-game series.
That apparently didn’t sit very well with the Sixers, and Philly big man Nerlens Noel made that pretty clear just 30 seconds into Friday night’s game against Bledsoe’s Phoenix Suns.
The Suns guard went into the lane and attempted to put up a shot against Noel. That shot never got to the rim, though, as Noel clobbered Bledsoe with a pretty hard foul.
Bledsoe responded with a shove, and then everybody started to act like a tough guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n688vkKYrvY
Bledsoe told reporters after the game that an unnamed Sixers player told him he’d be in for a long night upon entering the paint.
“Word got back to me,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “You could tell (it was intentional). Look at the tape.”
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek sort of brushed off the incident.
“I don’t know what message you’re going to send,” he said, according to the AP. “So you fouled him hard. Big deal.”
The Suns, of course, got the last laugh. They pasted the Sixers by a score of 122-96. Philly is now 0-12 and is six losses away from tying the NBA record for most losses to start a season.
The great irony is that Bledsoe and Noel both attended the University of Kentucky.
Photo John Geliebter/USA TODAY Sports Images
