The NBA investigates an alleged attack by Joel Embiid on a journalist in the Sixers locker room

This Saturday, the NBA opened an investigation into reports of Joel Embiid allegedly pushing a journalist after an argument in the Philadelphia 76ers locker room after the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies (107-124).

“We are aware of reports of an incident in the Sixers locker room tonight and will begin an investigation,” an NBA spokesperson told the network. ESPN. Shams Charania, a journalist covering the American basketball championship, described in ESPN his version of what had happened after the first information appeared on the networks.

“Embiid got into a dispute with a columnist after tonight’s game in Philadelphia. Embiid took issue with a recent column that referenced his late brother and son, and Embiid shoved the columnist. No punch,” he said. The allusion to the “punch” served to deny previous rumors that the Philadelphia center had hit the journalist.

Later, journalist Kyle Neubeck, of PHLY Sports and present in the locker room, he told what he had witnessed. “The second Joel realized (the columnist) was there, a verbal exchange began. Obviously we can’t repeat many of the words that were said, but the basics were: ‘You can say I’m very bad, you can say whatever you want about me as a player. But never put my dead brother’s name in your mouth. Don’t talk about my family (…). If you talk about my family we are going to have real problems,’” he described.

“They continued with the exchange and at one point, say after 90 seconds or two minutes, Joel pushed him. The team’s security intervenes, the players seem to surround the situation and everyone seems to disperse,” he added.

The columnist in question is Marcus Hayes, who writes for the newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. This Friday, Embiid already showed his anger in front of the media for a recent article in which he mentioned his family members. The column was titled “Joel Embiid disrespects the Sixers, basketball, the greats and himself. “Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are right to criticize him.” “Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son Arthur as the most important turning point in his basketball career. “He often says he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in a car accident when Embiid was in his first year as a Sixers player,” the column began.

The summary of the day

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the only two undefeated

With a fantastic 6-0 balance, the Thunder, increasingly established as the team to beat in the West, achieved tonight the best start to a campaign in the history of the Oklahoma franchise, surpassing the 5-0 of the 2011 season -2012 with that remembered team led by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. They beat the Clippers 92-105.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 points and 9 assists) took the reins of the Thunder for another day with six players in double figures in scoring. Chet Holmgren had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

For the Clippers (2-4), who have yet to celebrate a victory in their new Intuit Dome stadium, James Harden had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists on a poor day of shooting (4 of 13 shooting).

For his part, Donovan Mitchell, with a basket with 0.3 seconds remaining, broke the Bucks’ hearts this Saturday and kept the Cavaliers undefeated with a huge balance of 7-0 and just one win away from equaling the best start in their history (8-0 in the 1976-1977 campaign). They won 113-114.

Mitchell finished with 30 points leading the Cavaliers with five other players with more than 10 points: Darius Garland (11 points and 10 assists), Jarrett Allen (15 points and 12 rebounds), Evan Mobley (14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists), Isaac Okoro (13 points and 8 rebounds) and Sam Merrill (17 points with 5 of 9 in triples). In the Bucks, with a terrible 1-5 after five consecutive defeats, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo did everything possible but they suffered another disappointment: the point guard excelled with 41 points (an enormous 10 of 15 in triples) and 9 assists and the Greek titan almost reached the triple-double with 34 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists.