BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard James Harden was ejected from the Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night time after hitting Royce O’Neale under the belt as he was driving to the basket. The officers gave Harden a flagrant 2 foul, which is an computerized ejection, forcing the Sixers guard to go again to the locker room on the finish of the third quarter.
The play occurred when Harden was attempting to drive previous O’Neale, and prolonged his arm out to create some area. However, in doing so Harden hit O’Neale within the groin space and the officers first referred to as a cost then after reviewing it gave him a flagrant 2.
Here’s how the play broke down:
Harden and the remainder of the Sixers had been surprised on the name, particularly after earlier within the sport Joel Embiid was solely given a flagrant 1 for kicking Nic Claxton within the groin space as he was laying on the bottom. It additionally does not assist that as much as that time within the sport, Harden had been Philadelphia’s best participant, placing up 21 factors on 8 of 15 from the sphere.
“Unacceptable flagrant 2,” Harden stated after the sport. “The first time I’ve been ejected. I’m not labeled as a grimy participant. I did not hit him within the personal space. Somebody draped on you want that defensively, it is only a pure basketball response. I did not hit him laborious sufficient for him to fall down like that. For a flagrant 2, it is unacceptable. This is a playoff sport. You’ve seen it across the league, issues which are way more worse than what that play was — truthfully I do not assume that was a foul. That’s unacceptable. That cannot occur.”
Referee Tony Brothers instructed a pool reporter after the sport that Harden was ejected as a result of the “level of contact on to the groin” was characterised as extreme.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers did not agree with the decision, or the flagrant 1 on Embiid, however acknowledged that it was out of his fingers.
“I used to be stunned by James,” Rivers stated. “But hear, they checked out it, they made the decision. You simply need to dwell with it. The officers are attempting to get it proper, too. They have these three plus individuals in Secaucus. And they noticed sufficient — I nonetheless, I have not actually seen it, not that one. That was the one, possibly I should not have regarded. That was the one I regarded up at, and I did not assume, you already know, I did not assume — I instructed Tony [Brothers], like, come on. I used to be stunned by it. But it’s what it’s. And clearly they noticed sufficient. They have 1,000 angles that we do not have and also you simply gotta dwell with it.”
