Joel Embiid’s night against Detroit picked up an extra layer of discipline after the league retroactively hit him with a Flagrant 1 for kicking Cade Cunningham.
The sequence came with 5:32 left in the first quarter. Cunningham was guarding Embiid near the three-point line when Embiid extended his right leg during an initial shooting motion. He then moved the ball to LeBron James, but the kick caught Cunningham in the groin and left the Pistons guard bent over in pain.
No whistle came on the play. Cunningham needed time to shake it off while Embiid kept the possession alive and finished at the rim for a dunk. Cunningham was still grabbing at the area afterward.
Embiid’s issues in the game didn’t stop there. He was also assessed a technical foul after shoving Pistons forward Tolu Smith under the basket with 1:25 left in the first half, which sparked a brief confrontation.
That technical and the later Flagrant 1 were Embiid’s first of each kind this season. Under league rules, a Flagrant 1 is worth one point, and a player who reaches six points in the regular season gets a one-game suspension. Two Flagrant 1s in the same game also lead to an ejection, while a Flagrant 2 brings an automatic ejection.
Even with the controversy, Embiid put together a big stat line, finishing with 26 points and a season-high 15 rebounds against Detroit. Through seven games this season, he is averaging 19.6 points and 10 rebounds.
Philadelphia won anyway, moving to 8-1. Jaylen Brown led the 76ers with 30 points and seven rebounds, and Cunningham finished with 26 points and 11 assists for the Pistons.
The teams won’t see each other again until February.
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