- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,150,979
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images
In a moment that could've shaken the Oklahoma City Thunder to a bad playoff loss, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's fourth-foul-plus-flagrant combo turned inconsequential. Trying to get Austin Reaves unglued to him, the reigning MVP accidentally dragged his shoulders across his midsection.
That forced one of many referee reviews. Not even two minutes into the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander was handed his fourth foul. He was also ticketed with a rare flagrant foul. Without him, the Thunder relied on their bench to pull away in a 125-107 Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a modest 22 points and two assists. The Thunder had their second-unit lineup take care of business without their best player. Not exactly a luxury most teams historically share with their MVP candidate.
Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander's flagrant foul caused uproar. Possibility related to what happened, Reaves and a group of Lakers players confronted the officiating crew after the buzzer. Here's what the Thunder had to say about the viral moment:
Mark Daigneault
"My interactions with the officials are between me and them. I have plenty to say to them. I'm going to keep it there. I thought our team did a really good job of staying present and just focusing on the next controllable. We just played a possession-by-possession."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
"I didn't get an explanation. But I also didn't ask. It's not going to change the call, so I didn't really care. But I felt like he was hugging around me. I just tried to get loose. My arms got caught. Unfortunate. I didn't mean to hurt him. That's the way it goes. It is what it is. You move on. I didn't want to use it as a distraction. The team did a great job of handling business. These guys are gamers. No matter what happens, personnel-wise out there, we've been through ups and downs all year."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder react to SGA's flagrant foul in Game 2 win over Lakers
Continue reading...
