A lot is on the line for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night when they battled Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. As such, it's no surprise that emotions were running high in this matchup. For his part, Kyrie Irving got into it with a courtside fan early in the game, and it is clear that the Mavs star wasn't too pleased with what he heard from the Sixers supporter.

At the mid-way point of the first quarter, Irving was seen talking to the referee about a fan. It seems that Kyrie was complaining to the game official about the supporter's antics. The enigmatic Mavs superstar then decided to confront the fan himself:

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The ref got in the way, and he pretty much prevented Irving from going face-to-face with the aforementioned fan. As it was mentioned in the broadcast, Kyrie Irving just had a fan ejected a couple of nights ago, and it appears that he had the same idea on Wednesday.

The Mavs entered this game with a 37-39 record. They are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 10th and final Play-In spot in the conference, with OKC also playing on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. A loss for the Mavs and a win for the Thunder will obviously put a dent in Dallas' quest for a spot in the playoffs in the West, which is why it goes without saying that the Mavs are in dire need of a win against the mighty Sixers. After Wednesday's clash, the Mavs will have only five games remaining in the regular season.