The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics took the court Thursday night, with the Sixers winning the game and scoring a knockout, 89-80. The knockout came from center Joel Embiid, who inadvertently hit Jaylen Brown on the face while celebrating a made basket.
The 6-foot-7 Brown was down on the floor after the contact with the hulking 7-foot Embiid. It was a good thing that Brown was able to roll with the hit at the last second. Otherwise, he would have had a sizeable bump on his noggin.
No technical or offensive foul was called for the contact as the referees recognized it as purely incidental and no permanent harm was done anyway. Besides, Embiid has a lot to celebrate on this night.
Embiid was announced earlier in the day as a starter for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, his first time in what could be much more down the road in his career. He is the first Sixers player to start in an All-Star Game since Allen Iverson made it in 2006.
Not only that, his team won the game against the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics, making it a double celebration for the Kansas alum.
Embiid has certainly been playing like an All-Star when he’s on the floor. He is currently averaging 23.8 points, 3.4 assists, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 79.8 percent from the line.
The win over the Celtics means a great deal to Philadelphia as the Sixers are battling neck and neck for the final playoff seedings in the East.
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