Marcus Smart being Marcus Smart.
Early in the third quarter, Joel Embiid grabbed a defensive rebound out of Smart's hands, and then threw himself into Smart as he turned to make a pass. Smart went tumbling to the ground, which caused Brown to come over and defend his teammate.
Within seconds, Smart rose himself, and got into Embiid's face. Keep in mind: Embiid stands at 7-foot, and weighs 280 pounds. But that didn't stop Smart.
After the game, Smart said he contained himself, and Embiid was lucky his wrath wasn't worse.
"I could have cracked his head open but I didn't," Smart told reporters afterwards, via The Athletic's Jay King.
Smart went on to express his displeasure for receiving a technical foul.
"Went for a rebound. Basketball play. Went for the steal. Basketball play," he said. "Referees blows his whistle, calls a foul. I stop play, my arms still stuck in there and he tries to break it. And then I'm the only one to get a tech."
Jaylen Brown, who also got into the mix, said the Celtics aren't going to be pushed around this year.
"Honestly, I don't know," Embiid said after the game when asked about the altercation. "They had called a foul on him. I walked away and next thing I know, my foot is getting caught up and slipped. And next thing, Jaylen is on top of me. It's basketball. Emotions, rivalry, Boston, Philly, a lot of intensity. So it's all good."
Back in March of 2019, Smart was fined $50,000 for shoving Embiid.
The 76ers fell to the Celtics 126-117 on opening night, despite 35 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists from James Harden, 26 and 15 from Embiid, 21 points from Tyrese Maxey, and 18 from Tobias Harris.
Defensively, the Sixers could not stop Jayson Tatum and Brown, who scored 35 points apiece.
Listen live to 94WIP via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
