Smart: I could've cracked Embiid's head open, but I didn't

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was baffled by the fallout from his chippy altercation with Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in Tuesday's NBA season opener, suggesting his sole technical foul was due to an unfair double standard.

"If I did that, I'm probably ejected, suspended - three games, four games, fines," Smart told reporters after the 126-117 win, per Boston Sports Journal's Bobby Manning. "But the fact that I was the only one who got something out of that is beyond me. Especially the defending Defensive Player of the Year - I mean, that's how he gets treated? It's tough, but, like I said, it's maturity. I could've cracked his head open, but I didn't.

"And that's the maturity we have. So we move on from it. It is what it is. Control what we can control."

Smart and Embiid were entangled early in the third quarter as the 76ers big man secured a defensive rebound. With Smart's left arm stuck in Embiid's grasp, referees blew the play dead as the center forcefully swung to his side and threw Smart to the floor. The Celtics guard said postgame that he felt Embiid "tried to break" his arm with the move.

While lying on the floor, Smart pulled on Embiid's leg to bring him down to the court, causing teammates from both sides to rush over.

Ultimately, the incident may have sparked Boston's victory. Following the ensuing technical free throw by James Harden and an Embiid jumper on the next possession, the Celtics immediately responded with a 9-2 run to take a 72-68 lead and never trailed again.