Voltar
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was assessed a postgame flagrant foul 1 for kicking Cade Cunningham in the first quarter of Wednesday's 112-106 win over the Detroit Pistons, the league announced on Thursday.
The play in question occurred at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter. With Cunningham defending him at the 3-point line, Embiid kicked out with his right leg on an initial shot attempt before passing to LeBron James. His kick struck Cunningham in the groin, causing the Pistons guard to bend over in pain.
Cunningham was slow to recover as Embiid cut past him for a dunk. He also trailed behind as play went to the other side of the court, grabbing the area that was struck. No foul was called on the play.
Whether it was the pain from the kick or perhaps frustration from no call being made, Cunningham only had 9 points in the first half before finishing with 26 (shooting 1-for-9 on 3s) and 11 assists.
During Wednesday's game, Embiid was also whistled for a technical foul for shoving Detroit's Tolu Smith under the basket with 1:25 remaining in the first half.
By NBA rules, a player assessed a flagrant foul 1 during the regular season receives one point for the infraction. Accumulating six points results in a one-game suspension. Wednesday's flagrant 1 penalty was the first for Embiid this season.
Two flagrant 1 fouls during a game results in ejection. A flagrant 2 comes with an automatic ejection.
Embiid tallied 26 points and 15 rebounds in the Sixers' win, which improved Philadelphia to 8-1 (4-0 on the road) for the season. Jaylen Brown led the 76ers with 30 points, adding 7 rebounds.