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Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis was sent off in their 118-110 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their first round playoff series on Monday night, and basketball fans don’t were not happy.
Not at all.
Porzingis ejected after the second technique
Porzingis’ two technical fouls on Monday were by no means scandalous.
His first came in the middle of the second quarter after finding what looked like a pretty neat block on Paul George and starting to celebrate.
His second foul came after a scrum in the third quarter, which began after Luka Doncic and Marcus Morris hit the post.
Porzingis ran up and gave Morris a slight push, who pushed him away during the brief incident. He and Morris received technical faults. Since this marked the second of the night for Porzingis, he was sent off.
Porzingis finished the night with 14 points and six rebounds.
“It’s unfortunate. We’ve just learned the lessons, and we have to understand that it’s part of the thrill of the playoffs,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said via Dallas Morning News’s Brad Townsend.[He was] protect his teammate on the second technique, which is the right thing to do in the playoffs. But the first where it was an aerial punch, it’s automatic. They called one on him, they called one on George. So, we’ll avoid that in the second game, and we’ll go from there. “
Kristaps Porzingis of the Dallas Mavericks reacts to a call and receives a technical foul in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Porzingis defends its actions
Porzingis admitted after the game that he should have been smarter and not let his emotions get the better of him, but he didn’t regret standing up for Doncic.
He also didn’t think what he had done was worth a technical foul.
“No of course not. Of course not,” he said when asked if he thought the second technique was warranted. “But I understand. We went there quite a bit. I saw it enter Luka’s face. I didn’t like it. That’s why I reacted.
“It’s the smart thing to do on their part. I just need to be smarter and control my emotions next time.
NBA fans are not happy
It didn’t take long for some of the biggest names in the NBA and the sports world in general to vote on the ejection. Even Clippers coach Doc Rivers said ahead of the start of the fourth quarter on ESPN that he was not happy that Porzingis was out.
Unbelievable. It’s the playoffs, man. Let’s go.
– Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) Aug 18, 2020
Guess we get kind of ‘set the tone’ on day one of refereeing, but that was a bad choice.
– CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) Aug 18, 2020
What a break for the Clippers. No way Porzingis would be ejected. A technician to complain about what he thought was a good blockage (it was a fault). Now it’s to rush to Doncic’s defense and give MMorris a little push. So wrong.
– Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) Aug 18, 2020
Really really really stupid and stupid and lazy and unfair to eject Porzingis for THAT … just horribly wrong and lazy in every way.
– Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) Aug 18, 2020
The entire timeline is rarely in as much agreement as we are right now on the Porzingis ejection.
– Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) Aug 18, 2020
Nothing better to end a great day of the playoffs than to ruin an otherwise great game by ejecting Kristaps Porzingis for two terrible technicians
– Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) Aug 18, 2020
No one has ever been kicked out for doing less than Kristaps Porzingis. “Crazy stuff” as Van Gundy said.
– Tim Cowlishaw (@TimCowlishaw) Aug 18, 2020
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