Sixers’ Joel Embiid kicks Nets’ Nic Claxton after stepover, not ejected
It looked like the presumptive NBA MVP was going to get ejected on Thursday night.
In the opening minutes of Sixers-Nets Game 3, Joel Embiid fouled Nic Claxton on a made alley-oop as the Sixers’ center fell to the ground. Then came the fireworks at Barclays Center.
Claxton looked down at Embiid as he stepped over him following the bucket. Embiid didn’t take kindly to that move, responding by kicking the Nets’ center in the thigh area.
In the wake of the Draymond Green-Domantas Sabonis incident earlier this week, an ejection for Embiid seemed extremely likely.
But he surprisingly was not tossed from the game, being assessed a Flagrant 1 foul instead. Claxton, meanwhile, was given a technical for his stepover.
During an in-game interview with TNT’s Allie LaForce, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers seemed to reference Green’s suspension when asked about incident.
Charles Barkley said on TNT’s halftime show he thought Embiid’s kick warranted an ejection, adding that it was “worse” than Green’s stomp.
There was yet another contentious Embiid-Claxton moment in the fourth quarter, and this one led to an ejection.
Claxton finished over Embiid at the rim and broke out the staredown once again. That landed him his second technical of the contest.
