The Nets are not happy with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons after the 76ers stars laughed while Embiid apologized for elbowing Jarrett Allen in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
"We didn't really like that. We thought that was kind of disrespectful, especially after the elbow he threw," Nets guard Caris LeVert said Wednesday, per the New York Daily News. "It is what it is. There's no love lost. It's a playoff series. We expect that."
The incident came in the final minute of the first half of Monday's game when Embiid hit Allen in the face with his elbow, resulting in a flagrant foul. Allen received treatment on the sideline for a bloody lip before shooting a pair of free throws.
After the game, Embiid said: "I got him pretty good but I'm sorry about it." However, Embiid and Simmons broke out into laughter as soon as the apology came out of Embiid's mouth. Embiid offered an explanation for laughing, saying he's "not usually humble." The Nets aren't necessarily buying it.
"I felt a certain type of way for it just because you're laughing and someone could have really gotten hurt," Brooklyn forward Jared Dudley said. "That's been Embiid's personality, but just because it's your personality doesn't mean it's right."
Not long after Embiid's foul, Nets forward Rodions Kurucs received a flagrant foul of his own for elbowing Simmons in the mouth. Kurucs, however, believes Embiid intentionally hit Allen.
“(Embiid's was) dirtier than mine, 100 percent. Because I didn’t do it on purpose, and I saw he did it on purpose," Kurucs said. "So I feel he was laughing about that.”
The 76ers went on to win Game 2, 145-123. The series is tied 1-1 entering Thursday's Game 3.
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