76ers' Joel Embiid Fined $35K; Hawks' Bruno Fernando Suspended for Game 7
The NBA fined Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid $35,000 on Sunday for his on-court altercation with Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series Friday.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the NBA also suspended Hawks forward Bruno Fernando for Sunday's Game 7 for leaving the bench during the incident.
The spat occurred in the fourth quarter of Friday's game after Embiid was called for an offensive foul. Collins appeared to kick Embiid off of him while they were both on the floor, leading Embiid to use his body to push Collins back behind the basket:
The Sixers went on to win the game 104-99 to tie the series 3-3 and force a Game 7, which will be played Sunday night in Philadelphia.
While Embiid largely struggled in Game 6, shooting just 37.5 percent from the field, he still managed 22 points and 13 rebounds in the top-seeded 76ers' victory.
Collins had an even rougher performance, finishing with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds.
Embiid and Collins will be key to the success of their respective teams in Game 7 as the Sixers and Hawks look to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, who beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 on Saturday.
Fernando doesn't figure to be a big loss for the Hawks in the closeout game, having played only three minutes in the postseason thus far.
The 22-year-old played a bit role during the regular season as well, averaging 6.8 minutes in 33 games while putting up 1.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.
Hawks head coach Nate McMillan used nine players in Game 6, and he is likely to have a similar rotation in Game 7.
In terms of bigs, Clint Capela and Collins will almost certainly start and play the bulk of the frontcourt minutes with the likes of Danilo Gallinari, Onyeka Okongwu and Solomon Hill coming off the bench.
The Hawks are in search of their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since the 2014-15 season, while the Sixers are looking to make it that far for the first time since losing in the 2001 NBA Finals.
