By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Dennis Schroder and the Los Angeles Lakers were furious following Game 3 of the series versus the Phoenix Suns. The German point guard was pushed off the court by Devin Booker while attempting to penetrate the defense. The officials after a review ejected Booker with a flagrant-2 foul call.
“We do everything to get in people’s heads and whatever, but that’s not a basketball play. I am just going to leave it at that,” mentioned Schroder after helping his side jump to a 2-1 lead in the 2021 NBA Playoffs first-round best-of-seven series with 20 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
“Can’t happen,” underlined Anthony Davis in his post-game interview with TNT, “Can’t do that, I mean it’s playoff basketball, but you don’t push a guy out of the air like that with two hands. It’s a dirty play. Dennis could’ve really gotten hurt right there.”
“We keep it in between the lines, we never want to,” he added, “I know Monty (Williams), he’s not that type of coach, he’s probably going to say something to him, he was my coach for three years, but that just can’t happen. Hard fouls, things like that, playoff basketball, we accept those, but to blatantly push a guy with two hands out of the air, it’s a scary play. Good thing he’s OK, but plays like that are unacceptable.”
Schroder and Booker were going back and forth leading up to the late ejection.
“My mom raised my right. When somebody talks to me first, I am going to talk back. It doesn’t matter who it is. If somebody talks to me disrespectfully, I am going to do the same thing,” pointed out Schroder, “I love trash talking. If somebody talks to me, I am going to talk back. We are just going to compete at the highest level.”
Game 3 is planned to be held on Sunday. The series will return to Phoenix on Tuesday.
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