There were a handful of memorable viral moments during the Nuggets' 108-103 win over the Lakers on Thursday night. Fans have roasted LeBron for completely flubbing a breakaway dunk. LeBron also garnered attention for his continuing inability to sink fourth-quarter threes. However, few things have gotten people more heated than a foul call early in the game.
With about three minutes left in the first quarter and the Lakers leading 23-20, Jamal Murray was driving to the basket when the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell employed a fairly physical block. Russell crashed into Murray, sending the Nugget to the floor. The refs immediately called Russell for a Flagrant 1. However, many people have disagreed with the call, arguing that the incident was nothing close to a flagrant foul. This was echoed both by announcers and fans online.
Green Tweets After Foul Call
The Warriors' Draymond Green was one of the people who disagreed with the foul. Green is no stranger to the whims of the refs, having missed a playoff game this season for stomping on a Kings' player during the first round. But Green took issue with the decision to call Russell for a Flagrant 1. Taking to his Twitter account, Green simply tweeted "soft" around the time of the foul call. As the comments poured in, Green followed up with another tweet. "A lot of you dudes be real disrespectful in these comments. FAN BOYS. However, I think it really bother y’all that I’m the PLAYER that I am and the VOICE that I am. I get it… it’s tough to wrap your mind around it. But just accept it. I’m humbly ELITE at both 🤷🏿♂️."
Russell had a quiet night overall outside of the viral moment. He played 33 minutes, putting up 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block. This year's playoffs have become a lightning rod of foul controversy, especially in the early rounds. In the first round, the refs were very liberal with flagrant foul calls, even when the situation clearly didn't warrant one. Do you think Russell deserved a flagrant foul call last night? Let us know in the comments.
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