With 7:42 left in the third quarter and the Nets holding a six-point lead over the 76ers, a playoff basketball game broke out Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center and spilled into the seats on the baseline. Sixers center Joel Embiid decked Nets center Jarrett Allen with a flagrant 1 foul for the second time in the series, prompting the Nets’ Jared Dudley to rush to his teammate’s defense and challenge Embiid. Dudley chest-bumped Embiid and then was shoved from behind by 76ers guard Jimmy Butler, who drove Dudley into the baseline seats. Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons also went into the seats as players from both teams tried to get the shoving match under control. Ultimately, Dudley and Butler were ejected. Embiid went on to dominate with 12 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter of the 76ers’ 112-108 comeback victory in Game 4 that gave them a 3-1 series lead. Dudley said his reaction was exacerbated by the fact that Embiid elbowed Allen in the face in Game 2 and then laughed about it with Simmons in the postgame news conference. “I thought it was just a good push to let him know we’re not having it today,” Dudley said. “I got pushed, which was fine. We get up, we go our separate ways. Double tech. For them to eject not only Jimmy but myself is just ridiculous. No punches were thrown.” Asked if he intended to send a message, Dudley said, “Sure, it was a message. Joel Embiid is second in the league in flagrant fouls. So for that elbow he had before just to have a flagrant 1, no fine, laughing in the media, if you think a team I play on is going to have that, you’ve got another think coming . . . On this team, you stand up when you have to stand up.” Subscribe to Sports Now newsletter By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Allen downplayed the effect of Embiid’s foul, saying, “Honestly, I think it looked worse than it was. It was just another hard foul. I think it’s time to move on again.” At the same time, he understood Dudley’s purpose in coming to his defense. “I love that he did that,” Allen said. “I don’t think we needed to go to that extent, but Jared Dudley wanted to show that we’re here to stay. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to fight until the end.” Dudley had eight points and five assists and was doing an excellent defensive job on Simmons. Asked if it might have changed the game, he said, “Possibly. I was playing well. Me taking Ben Simmons out of the game, making other people have to play. This was going to the wire either way.” Officials crew chief Ed Malloy told a reporter that Embiid received a flagrant 1 “because there was a windup with unnecessary contact that we didn’t deem to be excessive.” Dudley and Butler were ejected, Malloy said, “for their role as escalators, taking a situation that was under control and escalating it to a heightened altercation.” Despite the impact of the ejection, D’Angelo Russell praised Dudley for his actions in response to repeated bullying by Embiid. “We’ve seen hard plays, we’ve seen hard fouls go against Jarrett Allen the last few games,” he said. “It just happened from the same player. For Jared Dudley to step up and react like that, I thought it was necessary because we’re getting the bottom end of that and the results of it. “For one of our players to be on the ground after every hard play like that, that’s not what it’s going to be. If those guys [refs] aren’t seeing it from our perspective, we see it from that perspective. We’re going to handle it our own ways.”<doc-sep>PHILADELPHIA — The Nets always knew Joel Embiid was going to be ready for Monday’s pivotal first-round Game 2. But they were hoping their veteran big men would be healthy, or Jarrett Allen would step up. They got neither. Not really. Jared Dudley was sidelined with a strained calf. Ed Davis — already hobbling with a sprained right ankle — was saddled with foul trouble. That left Allen to deal with Embiid. It didn’t go well. Allen has repeatedly been abused by Embiid both in the regular season and in Saturday’s Game 1. It happened again Monday, as the All-Star center had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help Philadelphia batter the Nets 49-32 on the boards as the Sixers won going away, 145-123. “You’re not going to win a lot of games when you get outrebounded by 20 or so rebounds,” Joe Harris said. “They dominated us in the paint, dominated in on the boards,” said Kenny Atkinson, who thought Allen showed some improvement. He just needs more. “Not just him. As a team we did not rebound. The first team did not rebound. And we’ve got to pick that up. If we don’t find a solution to our rebounding woes, it’s going to be over quick. It’s on Jarrett to pick it up, and it’s on the rest of those guys, too.” The Nets starters were outrebounded, 29-16, by the Sixers’ lineup. And Allen was bullied around inside by Embiid. After Davis had 12 points and 16 rebounds Saturday — and held Embiid to 1-of-8 shooting when defending the All-Star — he had just two points and one rebound Monday. He picked up a third foul just 1:18 into the second quarter, and logged just 5:30 of playing time. Dudley had done yeoman’s work guarding both Embiid and Ben Simmons on Saturday, and the latter erupted for a triple-double Monday (18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds). Allen had just nine points and six boards, and was floored by Embiid on a nasty elbow that earned a Flagrant 1 but easily could have been a Flagrant 2 and ejection. “I just decided to be aggressive and drive the ball,” said Embiid, who spun and threw his elbow out, catching Allen square in the face and sending him sprawling and bloodied with 35.6 seconds left in the first half. see also Nothing could stop Joel Embiid in Nets demolition PHILADELPHIA — Brett Brown described Joel Embiid as the 76ers’... “I don’t think he intentionally meant to elbow me. I don’t know what he was thinking but I don’t think there was any menace behind it,” Allen said. “They were definitely more physical. We’ve got to make the adjustment,” Caris LeVert said. “Playoff basketball. If he throws an elbow, we’ve got to throw an elbow back. What are we going to do, just sit back and take it?” DeMarre Carroll said. “All we can control is what we do on the court, how we bring our physicality and how we respond. They got on that third-quarter run and I take that on my shoulders a bit. “As a veteran leader I’ve got to calm these guys down, we’ve got to be poised, can’t make mental mistakes and got to be tougher.”<doc-sep>During the first half of their 145-123 Game 2 win over the Nets on Monday, 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid drove in Nets big man Jarrett Allen and hit him with an elbow across the jaw and was called for a flagrant-1 foul. Post game, Embiid issued an apology at the podium, but he and Ben Simmons were laughing about it and the Nets took exception to it calling it “kinda disrespectful” in the words of Caris LeVert. Before Game 3 on Thursday, Embiid wanted to clear the air on the whole situation. “I was trying to be genuine and I was actually sorry about what I did and I actually apologized to Jarrett during the game,” said Embiid. “I kept asking him if he was OK. That was not my intent. Unfortunately at the podium, my teammate made me laugh and it kind of took a wrong turn.” . @JoelEmbiid re-issues his apology to Nets big man Jarrett Allen, said the laughing was unintentional #Sixers pic.twitter.com/4ndXJxZ4nN — Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) April 18, 2019 Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win on Monday to help the Sixers even the series. He now wants to move on from the incident. “I wasn’t laughing because of how sorry I am,” he added. “I was just trying to make a basketball play. I probably should’ve been ejected.” On the Nets side of things, Allen said he and Embiid spoke about the incident. “I’m over the whole thing,” said Allen. “I think it was a real aggressive play. I’m not looking into it more than what it is.”<doc-sep>
The Nets didn’t think Joel Embiid’s elbow to Jarrett Allen’s face in Monday’s first-round Game 2 was malicious; but they sure felt that his laughing about it later with Ben Simmons was disrespectful, and it got on their nerves. They have a chance to do something about it in Thursday’s Game 3 at Barclays Center. “He has a history of flagrant fouls. Hopefully we don’t get called for any flagrant fouls if we accidentally hit him with an elbow in the chin. This is playoff basketball, you expect it to be physical but without being dirty,” said Jared Dudley, who took umbrage with Embiid’s flippant laughter after the incident. “I felt a certain type of way for it just because you’re laughing and someone could have really gotten hurt. Now, luckily, Jay did pop up. That’s been Embiid’s personality, but just because it’s your personality doesn’t mean it’s right. So, for us, you can either get even however you want to do it, but the biggest thing for us to get even is winning Game 3.” For those who don’t recall, the Nets were down by just two points with 35 seconds left in the first half when Embiid spun to the basket and threw a vicious elbow right into Allen’s face that left him prone and bloodied. “We didn’t really like that. We thought that was kind of disrespectful, especially after the elbow he threw. It is what it is. There’s no love lost. It’s a playoff series. We expect that,” Caris LeVert said. It’s a shot that earned Embiid a Flagrant 1, but very easily could’ve been a Flagrant 2 and an ejection. And one the Nets say, had the roles been reversed, would have. “If [Allen] throws the same elbow and hits Joel, he’s getting ejected. That’s just what it is. We can’t play that game. All we have to do is go out there and play our game and be who we are and we’ll be fine, just like Game 1,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “To me, it’s a close call, I’m thinking for sure,” Dudley said. “I haven’t even seen a fine. Maybe you can get away with it more on the offensive end, throwing ’bows, than on the defensive end. That might be the new way to get around stuff now.” Allen’s mouth was bloodied but he escaped serious injury and popped up quickly — perhaps too quickly. Dudley admitted that may have played a role in Embiid not getting a Flagrant 2, saying, “We’ve been stressing to him, when he turns into you you’ve got to hit the ground.” A Flagrant 2 would’ve seen Embiid ejected and potentially turned the series with the Nets having already taken the opener. But after Embiid escaped punishment, he took to the postgame podium with Simmons and chuckled about his elbow. “Obviously it wasn’t intentional and I got him pretty good and I’m sorry about it,” said Embiid, who then cracked up giggling and had to regain his composure. “OK, I’m sorry about it. It’s just me trying to being aggressive.” The levity definitely rankled the Nets. “I honestly don’t know what to think about it,” Allen said of the postgame merriment. For his part, Embiid said he was responding to Simmons laughing at him trying to be humble. Did the Nets buy that? “I just buy him being a silly guy,” Dudley said. “He’s a carefree guy. I don’t think he was intentionally going to hit him; but any time you throw your ’bows like that, you put yourself out there. As a player, I guarded Boban [Marjanovic] and he elbowed me. I’m not going to move my face; it’s up to the league to do that. “I don’t see how Rodions [Kurucs’] was a Flagrant 1 and [that] was only a Flagrant 1. I know Kiki [Vandeweghe, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations] has probably got his hands full because I’ve been fined by him a couple times for a bump. For my $35,000, I should’ve elbowed a guy in the face like that.”