
He did. At least for now.
Did Anthony Davis hit Jae Crowder’s in the face and get away with it? — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports
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Did Anthony Davis hit Jae Crowder’s in the face and get away with it?
By Kurt HelinOct 10, 2020, 6:00 PM EDT
When the NBA’s Last Two Minute report came out on Game 5, it backed the referees who called fouls on the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Markieff Morris, both of which sent Jimmy Butler to the line in crunch time. (The report did point out a LeBron James foul that was not called, and an Andre Iguodala three seconds that was missed.)
What it did not touch on, because it was not in the last two minutes, was when Anthony Davis hit Jae Crowder‘s face. It happened early in the third quarter when Davis and Crowder got tangled and went to the ground together.
Here is a better look at Anthony Davis hitting Jae Crowder in the face, and shown in comparison to Draymond’s suspension-worthy crotch punch in 2016: pic.twitter.com/lYScUROVEY
— Playoff Parakeet A. Cortes (@Ryan_Cortes) October 10, 2020
That’s a flagrant foul. Easy call.
It is possible the NBA comes in and gives Davis a retroactive Flagrant Foul call on the play — the league does that semi-regularly — but a suspension seems highly unlikely (despite what Heat fans are calling for). Comparing it to Draymond Green in 2016 is hard because Green has already gotten enough technicals in the playoffs that he was at risk of suspension (seven points led to the suspension). There was a pattern. That was not the case with Davis.
Davis played through an aggravation of his heel injury in Game 5 but said he would be good to go for Game 6.