The Philadelphia 76ers engaged in a good showdown against the visiting Toronto Raptors on Martin Luther King Day. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and the Sixers' young core edged their Eastern Conference rivals, 117-111, to avoid a season series sweep.
The victory, however, didn't came without a good ‘ol blooper, one that's easily Shaqtin' a Fool worthy. Reddit user Metsvault shared it via Streamable. Enjoy:
Obviously, it's fun to laugh off the hilarious blunder since they won, but it's definitely a sequence that they wouldn't want to ever again. The headache-inducing “fastbreak” featured a steal, a missed lay-up, another steal, a missed dunk, and another missed lay-up. Shaquille O'Neal and his crew are going to have a field day on that one.
Nevertheless, Embiid led the way for the Sixers. He overpowered the defense for 34 points and 11 rebounds — recording his 18th double-double and seventh 30-plus-point game of the season.
Simmons, meanwhile, though mostly quiet for the night (12 points, four boards, and two assists), still made his presence felt in the mental battle. He and Raptors guard Kyle Lowry had an intense back-and-forth just before the contest ended, with the Sixers rookie inviting his new, bitter foe to “meet in the hallway.” In the post-game interviews, he also let everyone know that he is always ready:
“I don't know if they're trying to test me or see how I am on the court, but I won't play around,”
Lowry, a 13-year veteran who's as scrappy as they come, is not one to back down as well. He, too, shared his view on the incident, particularly on Simmons:
Lowry on Simmons incident: “I don’t know. I guess he thinks he’s somebody.”
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) January 15, 2018
It's too bad that the meeting was their last on the regular season, they are just starting to like each other — but hey, the playoffs are still coming. Here's to hoping these two feisty squads meet and further heat up a brewing rivalry.
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