Embiid scored 31 points as the Philadelphia 76ers took a 3-1 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets
Sunday 21 April 2019 12:29, UK
Joel Embiid dismissed Brooklyn forward Jared Dudley as "a nobody" after the pair clashed in Game 4 of the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff series with the Nets.
Dudley was ejected from the game - which the Nets lost 112-108 to fall 3-1 behind in the series - along with the Sixers' Jimmy Butler after a fracas midway through the third quarter.
He was unhappy with Embiid's hard foul on Jarrett Allen and pushed the star center, prompting a scuffle between multiple players under the basket that spilled into the stands.
Philadelphia's Ben Simmons also got mixed up with Dudley during the melee but, after a long video review, it was Butler and Dudley who were given technical fouls and thrown out of the game, with Embiid given a flagrant 1 foul.
Dudley, who called Simmons an "average" player in the half before Game 3, has been keen to do all he can to upset the Sixers during the series, but Embiid, who finished with 31 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, six blocks and two steals, had little time for his opponent after the game.
"First of all, he's a nobody," Embiid told TNT courtside after the game. "When opponents try to do stuff like that, that's just to get us out of the game.
"Especially, I'm too valuable for my team. That's why I didn't react. I did not do anything and I did not think that was a flagrant foul because I played the ball, too. But in that type of situation, I just got to stay composed and be mature."
Speaking later alongside Butler, Embiid said he expected Dudley to make his presence felt, and said he would pay Butler's fine for his ejection after his team-mate stuck up for him.
"First of all, we knew it was coming," he said of Dudley.
"It was great to see that you play with guys that care about you, that have your back and I don't have to do anything else but go back and have their back too and that's by dominating and trying to get us a win."
"We definitely thought it was coming," added Butler. "I don't be paying attention to him too much. I just don't think you should run up on anybody like that ...
"We got a dub, that's all I'm worried about."
