Kristaps Porzingis Ejected from Mavericks vs. Clippers After 2nd Technical Foul
August 18, 2020
Kristaps Porzingis' night ended early after the Dallas Mavericks star was ejected in the third quarter of Monday's NBA playoffs matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The referees assessed Porzingis with his second technical foul after he stepped between teammate Luka Doncic and Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr.
Some of Porzingis' NBA colleagues were disappointed with the referee's ruling:
During a sideline interview with ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers also said he "hate[s] that," in reference to the call.
Following his team's 118-110 defeat, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle called the ejection "unfortunate":
Porzingis told reporters after the game that he didn't believe he should have been ejected, though he understood the call:
The general frustration was magnified because Porzingis' first technical resulted from him arguing with the refs after being whistled for a shooting foul on Paul George.
ESPN officiating expert Steve Javie defended the decision to eject the 2018 All-Star:
Crew chief Kane Fitzgerald explained the technicals after the game, noting Porzingis was assessed the second technical for "being an escalator to the altercation":
Others, however, will counter that Porzingis did little to ultimately escalate the situation and was merely coming to his teammate's defense. And while the fans might not be in the arena, the emotions are running high among the players given this is a postseason game.
Porzingis' departure had an almost immediate impact on the game.
The Mavericks led 71-66 when he headed for the locker room with 9:10 left in the third. By the time the quarter ended, the Clippers overturned their deficit to go ahead 87-82.