Joel Embiid gets technical foul for shoving match with Pistons F Tolu Smith

The Philadelphia 76ers are taking on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

There were some fireworks ahead of halftime. With 1:25 left in the first half, Jaylen Brown was fouled while shooting under the basket.

After the foul, he headed to the free-throw line, and then, all of a sudden, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid got into a shoving match with Detroit’s Tolu Smith.

Embiid was jockeying for position with Smith. After the whistle, it looked like Embiid’s elbow hit Smith in the chest. Smith then swatted the ball away from Embiid. This led to a shoving match between the two, and in the kerfuffle, Embiid ended up pushing a ref away.

76ers-Pistons getting heated 👀

Joel Embiid was given a technical foul for this play. pic.twitter.com/aH0FimVLOu

— ESPN (@espn) November 5, 2026

When the dust settled, the refs whistled only Embiid for a technical foul. The Detroit crowd rained down expletives with his last name, and the Philly center stood and egged them on, asking for more.

Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham hit the ensuing free throw from the technical. Philly went into halftime leading 56-42.

This is Embiid’s first technical foul of the regular season. He received a technical foul in the 76ers’ preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets after a verbal altercation with a referee following a moving screen call.

Philadelphia has started the season strong. The 76ers entered Wednesday’s game at 7-1, with their lone loss so far coming against the Pistons on October 25.

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p style=”text-align:left”>Embiid has played in six of the team’s games so far this season as the franchise continues to manage his workload to keep him healthy. He is averaging 18.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.