Brett Brown praised Joel Embiid for showing discipline in avoiding a fight with Marcus Morris during the Philadelphia 76ers’ 109-104 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Embiid and Morris got tangled under the basket late in the second quarter. The Knicks forward yanked Embiid to the ground, opening things up for a potential skirmish. Rather than fight Morris, Embiid allowed himself to be separated from his opponent:
Knicks and 76ers have heat in Philly as Marcus Morris and Joel Embiid have to be kept apart. Morris called for a flagrant 1 as he pulled Embiid down to the floor. Then he had a bunch of stuff to say to Embiid and those two had to be separated and a bunch of people jumped in. pic.twitter.com/nOma3oCEFB
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) November 21, 2019
Double-technical fouls were handed out, while Morris also received a flagrant-1 foul. Embiid ended up with 23 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes.
After the win, Brown complimented Embiid for showing maturity by not fighting Morris.
Brett Brown noted Joel Embiid’s maturity for not fighting Marcus Morris Sr tonight #Sixers pic.twitter.com/9x4yJQCLSS
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) November 21, 2019
Why the praise? Embiid got into a fight with Karl-Anthony Towns last month over a similar situation and ended up suspended two games. He may not earn any tough guy points by avoiding fights, but he is helping his team by not getting ejected or suspended.
