Marcus Smart helped lead the Boston Celtics to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, but he still wasn’t happy about everything that went down in the matchup.
Smart and 76ers star Joel Embiid were involved in a skirmish shortly following the half. The duo got tied up following a Philadelphia rebound, with Embiid ripping away from Smart while the guard’s arm was still locked in on the ball. The motion sent Smart tumbling to the ground, before Embiid tried to regain his balance by stepping over Smart. Smart then grabbed at Embiid’s leg, which led to a heated exchange between the two teams.
Following the game, Smart made sure to let his displeasure be known.
“I could have cracked his head open but I didn’t,” Smart said postgame, per Jay King of The Athletic. “Went for a rebound. Basketball play. Went for the steal. Basketball play. Referees blows his whistle, calls a foul. I stop play, my arms still stuck in there and he tries to break it. And then I’m the only one to get a tech.”
Jaylen Brown was one of the Celtics players to come to Smart’s aid, sharing some words with Embiid in the process. He also spoke about the incident postgame, in which he shared a bigger message about what he believes the 2022-23 Celtics are all about.
“Embiid was getting away with a lot of unnecessary pushing and shoving,” Brown said postgame. “Being a big guy, he was throwing his weight around a little bit. … It seemed like he was trying to hurt Smart in a sense, that’s when my instincts (kicked in) and I started to come over.
“… We got each others backs out there. We’re not taking no mess this year.”
The Celtics would proceed to have their way with the Sixers following the dust up, outscoring Philadelphia 63-54 in the second half.
