Watch: Embiid calls Nets' Dudley 'a nobody' following Game 4 victory
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid didn't mince words when discussing how Brooklyn Nets veteran Jared Dudley got in his face following a flagrant-1 foul on Jarrett Allen midway through the third quarter of Game 4 on Saturday.
"First of all, he's a nobody," Embiid said of Dudley during his postgame interview after Philadelphia's narrow 112-108 win. "When opponents try to do stuff like that, that's just to get us out of the game. I'm too valuable for my team, that's why I didn't react.
"I did not do anything, and I didn't think that was a flagrant foul because I played the ball. But in that type of situation, I just gotta stay composed and be mature and let it go because my teammates need me more than they need him."
Dudley was ejected for shoving Embiid following the big man's hard foul on Allen. 76ers forward Jimmy Butler was also tossed for shoving Dudley in defense of his teammate.
Embiid raised his arms in the air and attempted to remove himself from the fracas as a sea of players ended up in the first row of seating at Barclays Center.
Dudley previously voiced his displeasure with the 7-footer after Embiid laughed during his apology for an inadvertent elbow to Allen during Game 2 at Wells Fargo Center on Monday. The 33-year-old also ruffled some feathers when he called Simmons an "average" player in the half court, to which Simmons responded by trolling Dudley while scoring 31 points in a Game 3 win for the Sixers on Thursday.