Just your run of the mill “in your face” escalation here. Via Pro Basketball Talk:
John Wall already had one technical against the Warriors Saturday night, he had argued a physical screen set by David Lee in the first quarter should have been a foul. But the game was going to get more physical, more chippy in the second half.
In the middle of the third quarter Wall was going for a layup and was knocked to the ground by Klay Thompson (a foul was called). On the next Warriors possession Wall was being physical and trying to deny an entry pass to Thompson, and Wall knocked the ball out of bounds. As part of the play, Thompson gave Wall a little shoulder that knocked down the Wizards point guard.
Wall bounced up, walked over to Thompson and barked. And barked. And moved to get in Thompson’s face. So a referee stepped in with the technical — which was the right call. That was an aggressive stance by Wall that left the ref no other good option.
The Wiz ended up losing by 9. Though even in the dredges of the NBA season (particularly for teams like the Wiz), great to see players fired up.
[H/T: B/R]
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