Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $50,000 by the NBA on Thursday for shoving Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on Wednesday night.
Smart was ejected less than a minute into the third quarter of the Sixers’ 118-115 victory over Boston for the two-handed shove into the back of Embiid. Smart had taken objection to Embiid sticking his left elbow out as Smart ran past the Philadelphia center on defense.
With Embiid’s back turned, Smart gave Embiid a two-handed shove that sent him sprawling toward the sideline. An enraged Embiid got up and went after Smart. Both players were restrained, and no punches were thrown. After an officials’ review, Smart was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul.
A motivated Embiid scored the next eight points to help Philadelphia trim a 69-58 halftime deficit.
“Stuff like that gets me going, gets the crowd going,” Embiid said. “Obviously, I was frustrated because it was a cheap shot. I didn’t see it coming.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.