The war of words between Jared Dudley and Ben Simmons had tensions running high in the opening-round series between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.
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And the powder keg exploded in the third quarter of Game 4 when Joel Embiid dished out a hard foul to Jarrett Allen near the rim. Following the play, Dudley came over and shoved Embiid, which led to Jimmy Butler retaliating with a shove of his own on Dudley. Seconds later, Ben Simmons and Dudley ended up spilling into the stands.
After the game, Embiid continued the feud by calling Dudley a "nobody" during his on-court interview.
Embiid's full comment:
I mean, first of all, he's a nobody. When opponents try to do stuff like that, that's just to get us out of the game. I'm too valuable to my team, that's why I didn't react. I did not do anything. I didn't think that was a flagrant foul, because I played the ball. But in that type of situation I just need to stay composed and be mature and let it go because my teammates, they need me more than they need him.
Dudley, meanwhile, responded by saying that if he knew he was going to be ejected for his actions in the scuffle he should have pushed Embiid harder.
Would Jared Dudley push Joel Embiid again knowing the outcome? “If anything, I should’ve got him worse.”
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) April 20, 2019
Following the altercation, Dudley and Butler each received double technical fouls and were ejected from the game.
Both Butler and Dudley were very efficient in Game 4 prior to getting ejected. Butler scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting while dishing out four assists and securing four rebounds. Meanwhile, Dudley scored eight points and dished out a game-high five assists prior to his premature exit.
In the second quarter, Dudley ended up knocking down a 3 and taunted Simmons on his way back down the floor. Dudley had called Simmons "average" earlier in the series to which Simmons responded with a 31-point effort in Game 3.
