The Philadelphia 76ers took down the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 on Wednesday night, in an ESPN-televised matchup that featured plenty of storylines and drama. It included the return of Ben Simmons to Philadelphia after the Nets and Sixers swung a blockbuster trade in 2022 that also sent James Harden to Brooklyn.
After making a shot that resulted in an and-one in the victory, Sixers star center Joel Embiid had an interesting Triple H-inspired celebration.
Thoughts on Joel Embiid’s AND-1 celebration? 🤔🤣pic.twitter.com/wnDwiWiAen
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 26, 2023
That led to Nets star Kevin Durant — out with a knee injury — tweeting during the game, “Trash celebration @JoelEmbiid.”
Trash celebration @JoelEmbiid
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) January 26, 2023
After the game, Embiid responded to Durant’s tweet with “#SuckIt” and a video featuring more celebrations.
#SuckIt https://t.co/rVpradzgkW pic.twitter.com/xP8uJ3T6IA
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) January 26, 2023
While Embiid was tweeting that, he was about to begin a postgame press conference in Philadelphia. When he sat down for the presser, he looked at his phone and couldn’t stop laughing.
Before he got to the 76ers’ postgame press conference, Joel Embiid sent a troll reply to Kevin Durant on Twitter.
He couldn’t stop laughing. https://t.co/aXxcKXU7Ig pic.twitter.com/kUmvtyR4G9
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) January 26, 2023
Embiid later said (via Sixers beat reporter Sam DiGiovanni of ClutchPoints), “There’s no secret that Triple H is my guy… I haven’t done it in a while. I just felt like it was a good and-one. I got the ball, got fouled and I threw the ball. I didn’t even see the rim. I felt like it was deserving of a good celebration.”
Embiid on his celebration:
"There's no secret that Triple H is my guy…I haven't done it in a while. I just felt like it was a good and-1. I got the ball, got fouled and I threw the ball. I didn't even see the rim. I felt like it was deserving of a good celebration." https://t.co/d6fMBKXW5e
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) January 26, 2023
[Photo Credit: SNY on Twitter]