We all know the deal with the typical NBA "fight" in which there's far more posturing than punching. Guys bump chests, point fingers, fake like they're trying to rush the whole world even though the whole team is holding them back. It's a bunch phony tough guys doing a lot of nothing. 

What Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns got into on Wednesday night was not that. With just under seven minutes to go in the third quarter of the Timberwolves-76ers matchup, the two star big men went at each other FOR REAL:

The altercation is now in the hands of Kiki VanDeWeghe and the league office, which will review the footage and conduct interviews with players, refs and respective team officials before determining an appropriate punishment. Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers have communicated to the league that they believe Towns was the instigator in the fight with Embiid, who has already come out and said he does not believe he should be suspended. 

Whether he believes he was simply defending himself or not, Embiid will have a hard time explaining this pretty clear eye gouge he stuck Towns with in the middle of the scuffle, which is a move that isn't even legal in MMA fights. 

To the floor they go, and from there it's a mess as everyone runs in -- including Ben Simmons, who appears to legitimately put Towns in a choke hold on the floor, complete with Towns appearing to tap out. Have a look:

This Simmons move is another matter altogether. The referees initially deemed Simmons a peacemaker, and the Sixers are "doubling down" on that assessment, obviously with the hope that Simmons can avoid his own suspension. The Wolves, however see this a lot differently. From Wojnarowski:

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 in what the Timberwolves contend was a "dangerous chokehold," league sources said.

Surely both teams are going to argue for their guys, but it's almost impossible to see this situation ending with some suspensions for at least Embiid and Towns.