Grayson Allen and Jaylen Brown shoved each other on the floor in the fourth quarter Saturday, and both got technical fouls. Allen, meanwhile, scored 27 points off the bench with seven threes on 10 attempts. But the Hornets lost 109-104 to a Sixers team missing LeBron James and Joel Embiid, after leading by 13. The shove traveled farther than the loss. But the loss is the bigger story.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Brown drove to the basket and got swarmed by Hornets defenders near the baseline. He and Allen ended up on the floor fighting for the ball. As Allen tried to get up, he pushed Brown's arm away. Brown took exception and shoved Allen back down. Teammates from both sides stepped in quickly, and after a video review officials assessed a technical foul on each player. Neither was ejected, and I found no report of further discipline. Allen didn't duck it afterward, saying both players gave a little bit extra after the whistle . Brown, a game-time decision, started and finished with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Charlotte led 83-77 entering the fourth quarter, then watched Philadelphia go on a 13-0 run to take control. Tyrese Maxey scored 38 and Anfernee Simons added 19 off the bench, and the Sixers did it without James or Embiid. Allen's seven threes kept the Hornets in front for most of the night, and Brandon Miller added 24 points on five threes. But no one could stop the run once it started. The Hornets also gave up a lead to a short-handed opponent, which is the kind of loss that usually stings more than the technical foul.
The funniest part came from the Hornets' own broadcast. As the shove was replayed, play-by-play announcer Eric Collins defended Allen by saying, "If anything, Jaylen Tatum out of line," mixing up Brown with his former Celtics teammate. It went viral, and it landed on a player whose exit from Boston is still a talking point. It also gave fans one more reason to talk about the sequence than the score.
Allen has a reputation for physical spats and unwarranted fouls, but this one was a loose-ball scramble, and he's the one who admitted it was fair. The better headline is a 27-point night from a veteran who found a rhythm off the bench, and a lead that slipped away anyway.
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