The Philadelphia 76ers were fully loaded on Friday night and looking to get back on track against the Detroit Pistons, but that’s not what happened. Instead, they were blown out and the sole highlight of the night was Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr. getting into an ugly sideline tiff.
Apparently frustrated with Oubre’s lack of hustle, Embiid ripped into his teammate during a timeout. Oubre shot back emotionally.
Joel Embiid calling out Kelly Oubre for not hustling back on defense pic.twitter.com/F7rRIVRe9a
— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) February 8, 2025
After the tense exchange, Embiid and Oubre hugged things out before returning to the court.
However, it was too little, too late. They were trailing by 19 points at the time and despite a late rally, fell to the Pistons, 125-112, in a game that wasn’t really even that close.
“I think it had to do with getting back in transition, right? I think we weren’t playing well. We’re fighting our way back into the game and we’d taken away most of those transition plays, and there was an exchange,” head coach Nick Nurse told reporters after the game, via ClutchPoints. “But I think it happens once in a while. Like you said, at least they got on the same page when it was over with.”
Oubre finished the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists. Embiid wasn’t much better, shooting 7-of-18 for 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. He also posted a game-worst -19 plus/minus.
