The Sixers took down the Raptors, 117-111, in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon as they opened the NBA’s MLK Day slate of games. Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with 34 points and 11 boards, while T.J. McConnell added 18 points, eight assists and six dimes off the bench.
Neither starting point guard had an especially great game as Ben Simmons scored 12 points and dished out four assists, while Kyle Lowry had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. However, those two became the focal point late as some chippiness between them led to a minor dust-up – if you can even call it that – which got them both tossed from the game with just seconds remaining.
As you can see in the video below, the two start chirping at each other as Dario Saric shoots free throws, and it leads them to landing double technicals and ejections. That normally wouldn’t be incredibly interesting, but the very end certainly is. You can see Ben Simmons point to the tunnel, suggesting they continue their conversation off the court, and Lowry takes off, eager to make that happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntVkSpe4NBQ
And here’s the Simmons request, broken out separately.
Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry were ejected with six seconds left, and then they both agreed to continue their "conversation" into the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/WxXfa0PpYh
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) January 15, 2018
They are apparently men of their word, as their altercation reportedly continued in the hallway, although Simmons denied anything really happened, saying it was “nothing” but explained what led to their on-court issue in succinct terms.
Hearing there was an altercation between Simmons and Lowry in the hallway
— Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) January 15, 2018
Simmons denies anything happened with Lowry. Said, “it’s nothing “.
— Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) January 15, 2018
Ben Simmons on the Lowry altercation: “I’m not going to take shit from anybody”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) January 15, 2018
“It’s nothing” could mean literally nothing happened or him simply downplaying the continued conversation that certainly seemed, based on their on-court interaction, like it was destined to take place. It’s doubtful that the altercation actually turned physical, but Lowry’s haste to go meet Simmons in the tunnel seems to indicate that they likely did have another encounter, however briefly.