Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns Take Shots at Each Other After On-Court Fight

It looks like the NBA has it's next great player rivalry.

Karl Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid
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Image via Getty/Mitchell Leff

Karl Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid

During Wednesday's game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns threw punches on the court. The two were ejected from the game after their confrontation turned into chaos, with other players either attempting to stop the fight or joining in. 

Now that the dust has settled, the two have taken their issues with one another online. In a post on his Instagram account, Embiid wrote, "Great team win!!! I was raised around lions and a cat pulled on me tonight lmao." Embiid also referenced both his and KAT's former teammate Jimmy Butler and that infamous practice. He also implied that Butler had given him dirt on KAT. 

Towns didn't take too kindly to the post and used it as an opportunity to directly take shots. Towns shared a photo of himself from the game, the fight itself, and a picture of Embiid crying following Philly's loss to the Raptors in last season's playoffs. "I ain't no bitch," he captioned the post. "Raised around lions." Embiid responded in a since-deleted comment, in which he said, "Go ahead using that pic of me caring about losing in the second round OF THE PLAYOFFS. Oh wait you've never been there. You don't know what is like." 

Embiid accused KAT of deleting the comment, but KAT's brother accused Embiid of deleting it himself.

The 76ers center also took aim at KAT on Twitter. "That tough guy act ain't cutting it... you know what you are... you know what you've always been>>> A PUSSY (SAY IT LOUDER FOR PEOPLE IN THE BACK)." He also attached two images of them going back-and-forth in their respective Instagram comment sections.

"Been kicking your ass and pretty please make the playoffs before you talk," he added. "It's a known thing that I OWN YOU." In a second tweet, he said, "I'm done talking trash." 

The 76ers won the game by a final score of 117-95. The NBA's investigation into the altercation is ongoing, but the Timberwolves have reportedly rejected the idea that Philly's Ben Simmons acted as a "peacemaker" between Towns and Embiid. As ESPN noted, referee Mark Ayotte said that Simmons was "deemed a peacemaker" for holding Towns to the floor, but the Timberwolves have claimed it was a "dangerous choke hold," instead. 

After the game, Simmons told reporters he's "always" got his "teammate's back." 

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