Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid apologized for flipping off Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Kevin Huerter at the end of Monday's game. The Sixers center had just canned a triple off the dribble to give him 49 points on the night, and a very aware Huerter stole the ball from behind after the 7-footer ensnared a rebound and pushed it past half court to run out the clock.

The game was on NBA TV, which drew the attention of more than the people at NBC Sports Philadelphia:

https://twitter.com/TheRenderNBA2/status/1232134698081685505?s=20

After accidentally dropping an F-bomb while talking about his controversial “best player in the world” comments, Embiid then apologized for giving Huerter the finger:

“I also want to say sorry for what I did at the end of the game,” Embiid said. “Ya’ll probably saw that on TV, I am sorry.”

Embiid has had his share of gaffes with swearing on live TV and saying a few NSFW barbs in interviews, but this was as blatantly raw a reaction as it can get for an athlete. The Sixers star explained his actions further, via Paul Hudrick of NBC Sports Philadelphia:

“There's always this thing about you shouldn't shoot the ball if you're up 20 or something like that. And I feel like it should go both ways,” said Embiid after the game. “I'm running the clock down and I feel like the game is over. That's why I'm doing it. But to me, if the other team is gonna keep playing defense, and they're gonna keep shooting the ball at the other end, I feel like we should just be like, ‘Well, be better next time,' and just go out and score.

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As fate would have it, the 7-footer would have a chance at 50 points again, but he turned down that chance, despite Huerter's actions:

“I thought about it when I had the ball again, but I was like, I'm gonna stay cool,” he said. “But I feel like it should go both ways. If the team up by 21 is running the clock off, I feel like the other team should also respect it. We just moved on, but it is what it is and we got the win. That's all I care about.”

The Sixers ultimately earned a 129-112 victory.