NEW YORK — At the 8:38 mark of the fourth quarter of Monday’s preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets, young Philadelphia 76ers big man Filip Petrusev grabbed an offensive rebound. He went back up for a shot but was met by Nets guard Ben Simmons, whose hard foul sent Petrusev to the floor.
The rookie big man got up and said something to Simmons and the two began jawing, which led to both getting hit with double techs. It was a sign of toughness from Petrusev indicating he wasn’t going to be pushed around.
“It was just a really, really hard foul,” Petrusev said afterward. “I thought it was uncalled for because he couldn’t get the ball. It was just I think, I don’t wanna say a dirty play, but it was so unnecessary, so I just let him know that. He talked back and you all saw the rest.”
Patrick Beverley, who was sticking up for Petrusev, was jawing at Simmons as well and he picked up his second technical foul, which led to his ejection. Because he was sticking up for Petrusev, coach Nick Nurse let that one go.
“Pat Bev was sticking up for Filip on that play from the bench,” Nurse said. “So there is some good camaraderie and teamwork there.”
Petrusev was happy Beverley had his back on the play and was thankful to have the veteran on his side in this situation.
“In that particular situation, he just stuck up for me like a real vet,” said the rookie big man. “I’m just thankful for him.”
Then again, this is nothing new for Beverley. He is going to stick up for his teammates and let the opposition know stuff like that isn’t acceptable.
“He got my back there,” Petrusev said of Beverley. “Not just there, in practice, too, and not just for me, for everybody. He’s there. He’s bringing crazy energy, he’s there for everybody, he supports everybody, so I really felt that. On the 3 even, I felt he had my back and he was supporting me so that gave me confidence.”
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