Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were each suspended two games for their role in an altercation during the Philadelphia 76ers' 117-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Towns and Embiid were both ejected from the game.

Ben Simmons was not suspended as he was deemed to be a "peacemaker" who was breaking up the fight. The Wolves have disputed that claim. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves are disputing the ruling from game officials that Ben Simmons intervened in the scuffle between Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns as a "peacemaker."

Referee Mark Ayotte told a pool reporter Wednesday night that Simmons was "deemed a peacemaker" for an act that included him holding Towns to the floor.

Sources say the Wolves believe Simmons engaged Towns in a "dangerous chokehold."

Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were ejected for fighting during the third quarter of the Philadelphia 76ers' 117-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Embiid said after the game that he's in Towns' head.

"I felt like you could see a lot of things the previous three possessions in the post. I kind of got it the way I wanted to, and then -- I don't know, I guess that last possession, we got them to turn the ball over, and my hand was staying tangled up. And next thing I know, he's holding me; we're holding each other. But it's basketball. That's what I'm good at -- I like to get in people's minds," said Embiid, who added that he didn't expect to get suspended because he didn't throw a punch.

While Towns addressed the situation by saying that "it was a competitive game," Jeff Teague said that the fight showcased Towns' growth as a player.

"As you can see tonight, [Town's] got a lot of fight in him. Last year, I wouldn't say he wouldn't do that or he would've took it, but he's here to make a statement," said Teague. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves pursued a sign-and-trade for D'Angelo Russell this past offseason and the point guard position remains an area of interest for the front office.

Jeff Teague is on the final season of his three-year, $55 million deal with the Wolves.

"They would love to get a point guard," said Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod. "They want to be a playoff team. I think they would love to upgrade that point guard position. If there's available point guards out there, they'll be (an interested) team.

"They tried to get D'Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade situation. You watch some of the other point guards who might become available this year, they'll want to become involved there."

Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns have been named the NBA's Players of the Week for games played between Oct. 22 and Oct. 27th (Week 1).

Young averaged 38.5 point, 9.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Atlanta Hawks.

Towns averaged 32.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

Young and Towns rank first and second respectively in PER.

Andrew Wiggins has had a disappointing pair of seasons after signing a five-year, $147.7 million max contract extension in 2017.

ESPN ranked Wiggins outside the top 100 of their annual rankings.

"I don't really look at that too much, top 100 or not top 100," Wiggins told ESPN on Thursday. "There's not 100 players better than me, so it doesn't matter what people think. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My job is to come out here and hoop, and that's what I'm going to do."

Wiggins has played for four different coaches since entering the NBA.

"It's not an excuse to say it altered my play too much," Wiggins said. "Every coach is different, every coach has different playing styles, but no coach made me have a negative experience playing."

Wiggins would rather prove his worth on the court than in the media.

"Everyone is counting pockets. Some people are mad about [it], some people are happy for you," Wiggins told ESPN. "That's how the world goes, especially when you've got something they don't have or do something they don't do. That's how the world goes.

"Even when I averaged almost 24 points and got the max deal, people were still saying stuff," he added. "Look at max players and some max players don't average as much, but it is what it is. I'm just trying to get right, get back on track."

Karl-Anthony Towns believes the Minnesota Timberwolves could have a bounce back season.

After making the playoffs in 2018, the Wolves began the season dealing with Jimmy Butler's trade request and the the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau as head coach. Minnesota finished the season with a 36-46 record.

“Everyone always sleeps on people in Minnesota because they don’t hear our name a lot,” Towns said. “That’s fine. That’s cool. We are going to come from the underground and just find ourselves in the playoffs if we continue to do what we’re doing. …

“It’s fine. Keep sleeping on us.”

Towns was also asked how the Wolves can "become a problem in the West."

"We have to play our game of basketball," said Towns. "It doesn’t matter about being anyone. We have to play to our standards. We have to play the way we play. We don’t have time to waste looking at other people and worrying about being the second version of this team and that team. We got to worry about being the first version of us and playing our style of basketball.

"And if people beat us playing our style of basketball, you salute them and move on to the next team. If we play the way we know how to play the way, especially with what I have seen in training camp and when we’re at our best, there are not a lot of teams that have a chance to beat us."

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guards Tyus Battle and Barry Brown Jr.

In a related transaction, the Wolves waived forward Jordan Murphy and guard Lindell Wigginton. 

Battle, 21, played for the Timberwolves in the 2019 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 10.8 minutes in six games. Battle averaged 16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists over three seasons at Syracuse University. The 6-6 guard was named to the 2018-19 All-ACC Third Team and the 2017-18 All-ACC Second Team. As a sophomore and junior, Battle was a finalist for the Jerry West Award given to the nation’s best shooting guard. He led the nation and set a Syracuse record for minutes in 2017-18 by averaging 39.0 minutes per game. 

Brown, 22, played in seven games for the Timberwolves in the 2019 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 8.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 16.6 minutes. The 6-3 guard played four seasons at Kansas State, averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 32.2 minutes per game. Brown finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in games played (139) and steals (254), and second in minutes played (4472). Brown was selected to the 2018-19 All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team and was a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year.