Jaylen Brown Wanted to Make Example out of Joel Embiid

Early in the second half of the matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics, the Atlantic Division rivals started to get chippy.

Known enemies Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart added another on-court altercation to their history as competitors as the two got tangled up in the third quarter.

Both Embiid and Smart went up for a rebound. Philly’s big man came down with possession but had Smart’s arm tangled up. When Embiid jolted back, Smart went crashing to the floor. After Smart felt like Embiid made a dirty play, the Celtics guard tripped up Embiid, causing the Sixers center to slip and fall to the ground.

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown eventually made his way over to intervene with Embiid.

After the game, Smart explained the play from his perspective.

“I went for a rebound — basketball play. Went for the steal — basketball play,” said Smart. “The referee blows his whistle and calls a foul. I stop playing, and my arm is still stuck in there, and he tries to break it.”

In Brown’s eyes, Embiid made a dirty play on his teammate. Therefore, he rushed over to defend Smart as Embiid was getting up off the floor. Following the game, Brown mentioned that his actions toward Embiid would serve as a warning shot to the rest of the league.

“Embiid was getting away with a lot of unnecessary pushing and shoving,” Brown said, according to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “We’re not taking no mess this year.”

Jaylen Brown said he went at Embiid when he pulled Smart's arm because he thought Embiid was trying to hurt Smart.

"Embiid was getting away with a lot of unnecessary pushing and shoving...We're not taking no mess this year."
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 19, 2022

Smart wants to move on from the incident, but the Celtics guard showed plenty of frustration following a Boston victory at TD Garden.

“It’s tough,” Smart finished. “I could’ve cracked his head open, but I didn’t, and that’s the maturity that we have. We move on from it. It is what it is, and we control what we can control.”

A matchup between division rivals that feel like they have something to prove on opening night was bound to get chippy. Although Smart and the Celtics thought they were slighted in the situation, Boston ultimately came out on top as they go 1-0 on the year with a 126-117 win over Philadelphia.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.