Embiid Fined $35,000 for Altercation With Collins, Bruno Fernando Suspended

Sixers center Joel Embiid has been fined for a Game 6 scuffle with John Collins while Hawks center Bruno Fernando has been suspended for Game 7.

The NBA has fined Sixers center Joel Embiid $35,000 for an altercation with Hawks forward John Collins in Game 6. The league also suspended Hawks center Bruno Fernando one game for leaving the bench area.

With 4:02 remaining in the fourth quarter of the 76ers's 104-99 win over the Hawks, Embiid was called for an offensive foul, landing on Collins. The Hawks forward shoved Embiid on the ground, which led to Embiid backing Collins under the basket as players from both sides tried to intervene. Both Embiid and Collins were given a technical foul for the altercation.

Joel Embiid and John Collins in each other's faces late in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/vJooBJD8Ea

— ESPN (@espn) June 19, 2021

Fernando proceeded to run off the bench to join the group, resulting in an automatic suspension. The former University of Maryland forward will miss Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, although Fernando hasn't played in the last three games. 

The NBA said that Embiid's fine resulted from "pursuing [Collins] in an unsportsmanlike manner and failing to comply with an NBA Security interview following an on-court incident." Collins was not fined for the incident. 

"I got a tech for it, and I didn't think it was an offensive foul," Embiid said in his postgame press conference. "I was just trying to stay calm and have my hands up. And someone was pushing me from the back, and I don't understand why I got a tech but I guess it is what it is."

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