Clippers' Caron Butler Spikes Ball into Ref's Face, Mass Hysteria Ensues

Ref down, ref down, we have one referee who goes by the name Derek Richardson who just got a face-full of basketball thanks to Caron Butler. We may need assistance. 

Tuesday night's Thunder and Clippers game delivered the requisite amount of excitement you would have expected from two such teams. 

While Oklahoma City controlled most of the game and would eventually win, 109-97, the Clippers did deliver one momentous play (h/t Big Lead) near the end of the first half. 

Serge Ibaka gets the ball and goes left for a shot. Caron Butler was waiting nearby, most likely salivating over his eventual block. 

Ibaka goes up and Butler delivers a mean stuff—which is more like a volleyball spike—into the face of unsuspecting referee Derek Richardson. 

The ref drops like Manu Ginobili taking a charge and the crowd goes wild. They react like they just saw Blake Griffin pick up Chris Paul and dunk him. 

Meanwhile, the announcers have a little debate as to whether the ball was out of bounds, because, you know, that was somehow in question. 

Richardson gets up and shakes it off like a boxer who was just sent to the mat. He gets a little bro hug from Griffin and the game ensues, amid the great chaos that was Clippers fans being thoroughly entertained. 

We NBA fans are a simple bunch with simple vices. Sometimes we enjoy the less nuanced slapstick comedy. 

Twitter is where it all goes down, well, most of it anyways. 

Follow @gabezal