Joel Embiid: Pistons Players Wanted to Fight Me After Last-Second Shot in 76ers' Win

The NBA's decision to make point differential one of the tiebreakers in the in-season tournament may have some unintended consequences, as Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid found out in Friday's 114-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Embiid said some Pistons players were "trying to fight me because they don't know the rules."

The reigning NBA MVP made a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it was waved off by the officials because he released the ball after the horn sounded to signal the end of the game.

Embiid explained he wasn't aware in the moment that anyone was mad, but found out when he got the locker room that Pistons players and coaches were upset.

"I heard when I came back to the locker room, I heard some people were trying to follow me," Embiid said. "I had no idea. …Players or coaches. I wish I would have seen it."

Among the many unwritten rules in sports, one of them is that a team with a comfortable lead at the end of a game should only run out the clock and not try to run up the score. This could be a problem for the in-season tournament.

Per the official rules, the second tiebreaker in the group stage is determined by point differential.

Friday was the first in-season tournament game for the Sixers. They are tied with the Indiana Pacers atop the standings in Group A of the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia owns the tiebreaker for the No. 1 spot because it has a plus-eight point differential to Indiana's plus-five.

There are still three more games for the 76ers in the group stage, but Embiid was clearly studying the rulebook when the NBA announced the inaugural format.

If the Pistons want to get revenge against Embiid, they play the Sixers in back-to-back games on Dec. 13 in Detroit and Dec. 15 in Philadelphia.