Boston Celtics

Sixers star Joel Embiid chose the coy approach when asked about hid dustup with Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart on Tuesday.

[still pretty miffed](https://nesn.com/2022/10/celtics-marcus-smart-sends-message-to-joel-embiid-following-altercation/) about the incident after the Celtics’ 126-117 win, understandably so considering he was the only one punished for what went down. After falling to the parquet floor, Smart lightly grabbed Embiid’s foot, which prompted the latter to ham up the theatrics with a pretty blatant flop. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year maintained his reach for the basketball after the Philadelphia big man pulled down a rebound, and Embiid’s rip-through caused Smart’s arm to awkwardly bend.

Since the two prospects were selected by their respective organizations in the 2014 NBA Draft, they have had their fair share of dust-ups on the floor over the ...

I could’ve cracked his head open, but I didn’t, and that’s the maturity that we have. Smart didn’t mince words discussing his feeling about the situation regarding Embiid. The fact that I was the only one that got something out of that is kind of beyond me. Went for the steal — basketball play. Once again, Embiid and Smart got tangled up, which led to a near-scuffle in the third quarter. “I went for a rebound — basketball play.

The Celtics did a lot of good things on the court in their season-opening win over the Sixers. But it was what Jaylen Brown said after the game that has ...

Click here to find out more about our partners. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices.

The Celtics did a lot of good things on the court in their season-opening win over the Sixers. But it was what Jaylen Brown said after the game that has ...

[Stream the Celtics all season on NBCSportsBoston.com](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-live-stream-how-to-watch-games-nbc-sports-boston) or via the [MyTeams App](https://www.nbcsports.com/national/myteams-nbc-sports)! [Joe Mazzulla](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/joe-mazzulla?b), who was thrust into a rather impossible position in the aftermath of Udoka’s suspension. You got to the top and you didn’t get over that hump. But it was very encouraging that the Celtics cleaned up much of what ailed them in the postseason by cutting down turnovers and getting consistency from the bench. "So just kind of dealing with that all summer and realizing that it’s opening night. All of this comes with the obvious asterisk that it was just one game. Stay locked in, let it affect them, let's be ourselves, let's be who we are.' We did a good job of that, just staying focused, letting every possession come to us and we did a good job of responding." His reward on Tuesday night was a postgame water bath when the Celtics players hit him with the H20 sneak attack in a jubilant locker room. These Celtics are not letting anyone push them around. Smart hasn’t always been the beacon of level-headedness. Vonleh logged a team-high five minutes and 37 seconds of matchup time on Joel Embiid and held him to eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with three turnovers and a shooting foul. These Celtics could have come unraveled before the season even began.

Sections · 'I could've cracked (Joel Embiid's) head open, but I didn't,' said Marcus Smart of his altercation with the 76ers star ...

[ https://apple.co/3zBKQY6](https://apple.co/3zBKQY6) to be able to come out and respond the way we did, I’m proud of this team.” On the way the Celtics came out and played in their opener, Smart said “I’m proud of it.