Published 11:57 IST, November 1st 2019
NBA: Joel Embiid and Karl Anthony-Towns feud dates back to 2016
Ever since their first NBA game in 2016 almost two years ago, Embiid and Towns have built up their rivalry. Here is a brief history of the Embiid–Towns fued.
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Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid and Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns got into a brawl on Thursday, October 31. Sixers beat Timberwolves with a 117-95 lead. Their fight was probably NBA's most high-profile brawl in years. Both players were ejected from the game after the incident. However, the fight was a result of two years of rivalry instead of a sudden altercation.
NBA: First game together (November 16, 2016)
Despite being drafted a year earlier, Embiid was in the sidelines for due to injuries, and KAT won the 2015-16 Rookie of the Year Award. Their first game, which was won by Timberwolves, kickstarted their almost two-year-long rivalry. Embiid played for only 22 minutes. Though the rest of the match was mainly uneventful, a pump-fake-turned ruthless dunk from Towns where he hung on for a little too long proved to be enough for Embiid to get back at him in the future.
NBA: Bridge between moments (January 3, 2017)
.@JoelEmbiid lovin that technical called on Karl-Anthony Towns pic.twitter.com/hm8aFA3SsU
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) January 4, 2017
The first game might have been an easy victory for Minnesota, but the second game was close. Minnesota could not overtake the 76ers, who won the game with a 93-91 lead. One point from the two-point difference was courtesy of Embiid's free throw, which was given due to a technical foul from Towns. Embiid had agreed with the foul. Though moments like these are fairly common during NBA games, it definitely added to the KAT-Embiid feud.
NBA: Embiid returned the favour (December 13, 2017)
Though Embiid had two points and the victory, he decided to get back to Towns with a Euro step. Embiid later made a post on his social media account, to which Towns replied by calling Embiid's caption and picture quality trash. Embiid, who had scored 28 points on 50% shooting against KAT, responded and said the quality was better than Towns' defence.
NBA: The brawl (October 31, 2019)
I aIN’t nO BiTcH
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) October 31, 2019
RaiSeD ARoUnD LiOnS
🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡#BitchTalk pic.twitter.com/5ujFmRXh9Q
Towns fouled Embiid twice before the fight broke out during Q3. Embiid double-teamed Towns, which resulted in both of them throwing punches and getting ejected from the game. Embiid and Towns took to social media to express themselves. Towns posted on Twitter, while Embiid responded by saying that KAT had deleted his comments.
09:59 IST, November 1st 2019