They say it’s a game of inches. But they probably weren’t thinking of it in these terms.
Joel Embiid nearly cold-cocked Lonzo Ball during the 76ers-Bulls game on Saturday night. Frustrated after losing the ball out of bounds, Embiid swung his fist. Ball’s head happened to be in its path.
Thankfully, Ball ducked out of the way just in time. But Embiid was a few millimeters away from creating an unfortunate incident.
Embiid got a technical foul, and Ball seemed to immediately forgive him, giving Embiid a hug shortly after the incident. The Sixers went on to win the game, 114-105, with Embiid scoring 30 points with 15 rebounds and Doc Rivers earning his 1,000th career win.
So, it’s all water under the bridge. Still, it was an exceedingly close call for an incident that would have dominated headlines and undoubtedly gotten Embiid suspended.
Maybe next time, it’s still worth finding a different way to get the frustration out.
Ball struggled in the game, scoring eight points with five assists on 3-for-9 shooting. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan kept the Bulls afloat with 32 and 25 points, respectively, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the Sixers, who moved to 8-2 with the win.
