The first night of the NBA Playoffs is behind us and, oh boy, it was pretty eventful.
The most talked-about game from last night was the Clippers v. Mavericks bout, which ended with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George bringing the win back to their hotel rooms. Still, many believe that the outcome would have been different had it not been for several questionable officiating calls.
Kristaps Porzingis was ejected from the game in the third quarter following two soft technical fouls. The first tech came when KP clearly blocked a shot at the rim, getting angry when he was called for a foul. Still learning how to operate maturely with the league's officials, the Latvian baller threw an air-punch in frustration, earning him his first whistle. Then, after superstar Luka Doncic was called for palming the ball, Clippers' player Marcus Morris was eager to grab the ball, getting a little too close to Doncic in the process.
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"I saw him getting into Luka’s face and I didn’t like that. That’s why I reacted," said KP about his second technical, which came after he allegedly instigated an incident after the Doncic-Morris play. "That’s a smart, smart thing to do from their part. I’ve just got to be smarter and control my emotions, especially on the first one."
If you were watching the game with live-tweets scrolling down your timeline, you obviously already know how vexed everybody was about Porzingis being sent to the locker room. Even some of the sport's biggest stars, including LeBron James were unhappy with the call.
"Man that was BOGUS AS HELL MAN!!!!! Cmon man," tweeted the Lakers' forward. Patrick Mahomes also chimed in on the ejection, tweeting: "That’s trash man! #NBAPlayoffs."
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Do you think KP deserved to be ejected or was the call bogus?
