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Embiid, Towns suspended 2 games while Simmons avoids penalty

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers were each suspended two games without pay for their parts in Wednesday night's altercation and "their continued escalation following the incident," the NBA announced Thursday.

Ben Simmons of the 76ers, who forcibly tried to restrain Towns, avoided a suspension or fine from the league.

The incident occurred during the third quarter of Philadelphia's 117-95 win, when the pair of All-Star centers began shoving each other after Towns forced an Embiid turnover.

The fracas escalated until Towns was on the floor with Simmons on top of him and Simmons' arm around Towns' neck.

The 76ers asserted that Towns was the aggressor, and "doubled down" on a referee assessment that Simmons was playing the role of peacemaker, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski earlier Thursday.

Embiid and Towns continued to trade insults after the contest on social media.

The suspensions will take Embiid out of the Sixers' road games in Portland and Phoenix on Saturday and Monday, respectively, while Towns will miss Saturday's matchup with the Wizards and Monday's game against the Bucks.

The suspension will cost Embiid $379,374 and Towns $376,345 in salary. Each team will receive a 50% credit toward the luxury tax, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

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