Today is Jared Dudley Day, and there’s nothing you can do about it

Brooklyn Nets forward Jared Dudley had an eventful Game 4 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, culminating in a third quarter ejection.

The Eastern Conference first round playoff series between the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers has been chippy from the start, but it reached a whole new level in Game 4 Saturday, as Jared Dudley and Jimmy Butler were ejected following a multi-player shoving match.

Dudley, in a twist we can only assume no one saw coming, has become a key figure in this series, mostly by criticizing Ben Simmons following Game 2, calling him “great in transition,” but “average” in the half court.

Simmons responded by putting up 31 points in Game 3 as Philly took a 2-1 lead in the series. Dudley contributed a robust zero points in 17 minutes off the bench, with a single defensive rebound to boot.

Dudley, however, who’s learned a thing or two about staying power in his 12-year NBA career, played a big role for the Nets in the first half of Game 4, scoring eight points, including two big-time 3s and generally doing his best to irritate the 76ers cast of stars.

The piece de resistance came in the third quarter, when, after Joel Embiid blocked Jarrett Allen (a hard block, but a good one), Dudley rushed over and shoved the 76ers center hard in the back for, um, let’s see, because he … just felt like it?

From there, things got out of hand, with Butler shoving Dudley hard in retaliation, Simmons getting involved and several families having to scurry out of the way before getting crushed by multiple NBA players.

Dudley and Butler were eventually ejected; obviously a win for the Nets, since Butler is a multi-time NBA All-Star and Dudley is, well, if you saw him walking down the street, would your first thought be “that man is an NBA player”?

Anyway, write it down somewhere. April 20: Jared Dudley Day.