Twitter Reacts to Al Horford's Ejection for Elbow Thrown at Matthew Dellavedova

Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday that Horford won't face additional discipline for the incident.

The incident occurred in the final minute of the second quarter as Horford got tangled up with Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova.

Horford appeared to throw an elbow at Dellavedova after the Australian fell into the area around his legs. The NBA Official's Twitter account provided an explanation for the ruling:

"Horford threw an unnecessary and excessive forearm/elbow to Dellavedova, making contact above the shoulders, therefore a flagrant-2 foul was called on Horford, who was ejected from the game, and Dellavedova received a technical." 

Twitter had plenty to say about the defining moment, which could seal the Hawks' fate in the series.

Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick noted there is plenty of debate over which player was at fault for the play:

Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com seemed to excuse Dellavedova for falling into Horford since the point guard tripped over Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll:

The Hawks' official Twitter account resorted to an emoticon to express dismay:

Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears highlighted the prior incidents involving Dellavedova from these NBA playoffs:

Matt Winer of Turner Sports wasn't sure Horford deserved to get tossed:

Former Cavaliers point guard Baron Davis didn't believe Horford's actions warranted an ejection: 

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix felt the officials should have let the tense moment pass and permit everyone involved to play on:

Horford's sister wasn't shy about blasting the refs although she deleted her original tweet: 

via B/R

Cavs head coach David Blatt was asked about the play entering the fourth quarter, per CBS Sports: 

Already trailing 2-0 in the series, losing Horford just before halftime of Game 3 was obviously a crushing blow to Atlanta's chances of putting up a legitimate fight on the road. Horford had scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting to help the Hawks to a 49-48 halftime lead.

The Cavs ultimately won the game 114-111 in overtime, and Horford provided his take after the game, via Vivlamore: 

Dellavedova defended his role in the scuffle, via CBS Sports: 

There could be some sort of payback in store for Dellavedova, who's filled in nicely to compensate for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving's injury-riddled postseason. The Hawks' frustrations are bound to boil over, and the negative aspects of Dellavedova's reputation will be hard for him to shake.

When he plays, Horford's positive impact on the Hawks can't be overstated. He only appeared in 29 games in 2013-14, but Atlanta has been a far-improved team this year with Horford making 76 regular-season appearances. However, the Hawks were in the unenviable situation of being without one of their best players at the most important time, and it cost them.