Day: October 10, 2020

Did Anthony Davis hit Jae Crowder’s in the face and get away with it? — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

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.

NBA Finals Injury Report: Status Of Anthony Davis, Goran Dragic For Game 6 — NESN.com

The Miami Heat have given the Los Angeles Lakers everything they have to force a Game 6 despite facing some injury adversity all series. And it looks like it will be much of the same as they try hold on one more night to take the NBA Finals to seven games. Heat guard Goran Dragic […]

NBA Finals Injury Report: Status Of Anthony Davis, Goran Dragic For Game 6 — NESN.com

The Miami Heat have given the Los Angeles Lakers everything they have to force a Game 6 despite facing some injury adversity all series.

And it looks like it will be much of the same as they try hold on one more night to take the NBA Finals to seven games.

Heat guard Goran Dragic is listed as doubtful to play Sunday after tearing his left plantar fascia in the first game of the series, which has been a huge blow to Miami’s chances of upsetting Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the Lakers look poised to earn the franchise’s 18th title with the help of Anthony Davis. The All-NBA big man reaggravated the right heel contusion he suffered in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets in Friday night’s Game 5, but is listed as probable to play.

Game 6 between the Lakers and Heat is scheduled to tip off Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

NBA Officials Missed Two Calls In Final Two Minutes Of Lakers-Heat Game 5 — NESN.com

The Miami Heat topped the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but game officials did miss a couple of key calls down the stretch. The first missed call was a Jimmy Butler shooting foul on LeBron James with 1:01 left in the quarter. Butler made contact with James’ head […]

NBA Officials Missed Two Calls In Final Two Minutes Of Lakers-Heat Game 5 — NESN.com

The Miami Heat topped the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but game officials did miss a couple of key calls down the stretch.

The first missed call was a Jimmy Butler shooting foul on LeBron James with 1:01 left in the quarter. Butler made contact with James’ head with an extended arm while driving to the hoop.

L.A. was trailing 105-104 when the missed foul occurred, but James made up for it with a nifty layup to give the Lakers a one-point lead with 58.2 seconds left.

The second missed call was a defensive three-seconds violation on Heat guard Andre Iguodala for not properly clearing the lane with 28 seconds on the clock. The Lakers made up for the mistake once again with another layup, however, and look a one-point lead yet again.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t too pleased with the officiating late in Game 5. And he made that perfectly clear after the game.

“I felt two bad calls at the end put Butler to the line, you know, and that’s unfortunate in a game of this magnitude,” Vogel told reporters, via ESPN. “Anthony Davis has a perfect verticality, should be a play-on. And the time before that, Markieff Morris has his hands on the ball — that should be a play-on. They were given four free throws and made it an uphill battle for us. Very disappointed in that aspect of the game.”

The Lakers and Heat meet again Sunday for Game 6 of the Finals, with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson makes the most of his openings in Game 5 — Daily News

Duncan Robinson was determined to keep knocking on the door, knocking and knocking, until he started knocking ’em down. The second-year forward’s seven 3-pointers in Game 5 on Friday were huge in helping the Miami Heat hold the fort in the NBA Finals until at least Sunday, when the Lakers have a second opportunity to…

Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson makes the most of his openings in Game 6 — Daily News

Rays Take Page Out Of Red Sox’s Book, Troll Yankees By Blasting ‘New York, New York’ — NESN.com

Sign In The Tampa Bay Rays are dunking on the New York Yankees in a myriad of ways. In the deciding game of the American League East foes’ division series matchup, Mike Brosseau got his revenge on Aroldis Chapman (refresher on that feud if you need it here) by hitting a series-clinching home run. But…

Rays Take Page Out Of Red Sox’s Book, Troll Yankees By Blasting ‘New York, New York’ — NESN.com

The Tampa Bay Rays are dunking on the New York Yankees in a myriad of ways.

In the deciding game of the American League East foes’ division series matchup, Mike Brosseau got his revenge on Aroldis Chapman (refresher on that feud if you need it here) by hitting a series-clinching home run.

But the fun didn’t stop there for the Rays.

After the win, part of Tampa’s celebration was trolling Aaron Judge and the yankees by blasting, what else, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Of course, the “New York, New York” fiasco actually dates back to 2018. After Game 2 of the Yankees’ ALDS victory against the Boston Red Sox to tie the series at one game apiece, Judge walked through the concourse of Fenway Park blasting the song.

The Yankees wouldn’t win a game the rest of the series, and after clinching, the Red Sox made sure to play that song as loud as they could in the locker room at Yankee Stadium.

So, Red Sox fans will be relieved to know the Rays are keeping the tradition alive.