Joel Embiid apparently wasn’t in a hand-shaking mood after the Philadelphia 76ers lost Game 5 to the Boston Celtics, 114-112, Wednesday night at TD Garden.
After the final buzzer sounded, Embiid was shown heading straight to the locker room while the Celtics celebrated their series-clinching win.
Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo! Sports reported several Boston players “sounded annoyed” by the actions of the 76ers center. The 7-footer engaged in a lot of trash talk throughout the series, and instead of staying on the court for a few extra minutes, Embiid disregarded the entire handshake.
“At least man up,” one Celtics player said in the locker room after the game, per Rohrbach.
Embiid did give credit to Boston after the game, saying he’s “gotta give them a lot of respect.”
Apparently, shaking hands with the opposing team doesn’t fall under giving the C’s “a lot of respect.”
Boston continues its postseason run Sunday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at TD Garden.