Overview
- The skirmish happened with 1:25 left in the second quarter on Wednesday, Nov. 4, when Joel Embiid and Detroit forward Tolu Smith briefly shoved each other after a whistle.
- Officials reviewed the sequence and, according to crew chief Marc Davis, assessed a technical foul solely to Embiid for initiating the confrontation with an elbow.
- Philadelphia won the game 112-106, with Jaylen Brown scoring 30 points and Embiid finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds.
- Pistons fans at Little Caesars Arena loudly booed and chanted at Embiid after the call, and video showed Embiid engaging the crowd during the reaction.
- Accounts differ on who struck first — some reports say Smith hit Embiid on the head while others say Embiid’s elbow made contact — and a separate NBA announcement later said the league assessed a postgame flagrant foul penalty 1 to Embiid for an unrelated kicking incident in the same game.