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Late in last night’s game 1 between the Warriors and the Cavs, Tristan Thompson was ejected after intentionally hit Shaun Livingston on the arm for taking a show when the game was already out of reach.
Following the ejection, Thompson got annoyed by Draymond Green trolling him as he walked off the court and decided to get into a physical confrontation with the Warriors forward.
Tristan Thompson shoves Draymond Green after getting ejected…tells him to meet him after the game pic.twitter.com/zUIRnaZuGr
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 1, 2018
Apparently, Kevin Love left the court while he was on the bench during the scuffle which is a huge no-no and usually results in suspensions in the NBA.
Guys, Kevin Love (who was NOT in the game) was on the floor during the skirmish at the end while there was still time on the clock. Probably should be ignored but I don’t know if the league is allowed to overlook it pic.twitter.com/cXRNQ6PWKs
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) June 1, 2018
Update: Kevin Love will not be suspended by the NBA.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love will not be suspended for Game 2 of the Finals after lingering on the court while he was not checked into the game when a scuffle broke out at the end of Game 1, a league source told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 1, 2018
Love spoke with ESPN after the game and said he wasn’t worried about getting disciplined by the NBA because he doesn’t believe he broke any rules.
Prior to Thompson exiting the court, Love was seen walking onto the court as Brothers went to the scorers table to relay his ruling. Love was quickly summoned off the court by an assistant coach. By rule, a player who is not in the game at the time of a skirmish is not permitted on the court. However, Love said he was not worried about receiving disciplinary action from the league for the sequence.
“No,” Love told ESPN. “I was already on the court trying to get the refs’ attention before the scuffle.”
The NBA showed some leeway in not suspending players from leaving the bench earlier in the playoffs when Russell Westbrook was involved in a similar situation a few weeks ago. Hopefully the NBA uses common sense and doesn’t suspend Love for this.