Intentional or not intentional?
That’s the discussion in NBA circles after Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton was ejected in the third quarter of the Houston Rockets’ 115-96 victory in Game 4 at the Toyota Center on Sunday night.
An accidental forearm to the head. A hard foul, yes. A flagrant one? Definitely. But an automatic ejection? That left many to reach a completely different conclusion than referee James Williams.
In Game 2 of the Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series, Williams called a technical foul on Devin Booker for trying to save a ball from going out of bounds that accidentally hit a Thunder player in the arm.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name… but James [Williams] was terrible tonight, through and through,” said Booker after the game. “It’s bad for the integrity of the sport.”
The NBA rescinded the technical foul after the game, but the damage had already been done.
Williams once again found himself at the center of a controversial call in Houston on Sunday. The replay appeared to show that the play was messy, but not malicious.
Ayton first appears like he’s going to jump to block Alperen Sengun’s shot, then quickly tries to switch into a defending position. His forearm starts low on Sengun’s back and then rises up and catches him in the face. It looks more jarring in slow motion. But it didn’t look intentional in real time or upon review.
“I was just trying to brace for contact,” Ayton said postgame. “It slipped… I know it looked crazy, but I’m not a dirty player. I just hope he’s alright.”
It was Ayton’s first ever ejection in his eighth season in the league. The disbelief lingered in his voice and in his teammates’ minds as well.
“That’s some BS,” said Marcus Smart about the call.
LeBron James didn’t hide his frustration either.
“I know what I saw,” he said. “His arm slipped… you have to be pretty good to do that on purpose.”
Even Sengun, the one who took the hit, shrugged at the ruling. “I didn’t expect him to be ejected. That was soft.”
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka reiterated that sentiment as well.
“I was surprised it was a flagrant 2,” admitted Udoka. “That’s the NBA nowadays. They call it a little softer than they used to.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick went further, describing Ayton as having “a kind soul” and insisting the play wasn’t dirty.
“It looked like he was trying to brace himself with his off-arm against Sengun’s body and his arm slipped and hit him in the head,” said Redick. “I don’t think a [flagrant] 2 was warranted.”
By the end of the night, Williams hadn’t just made one controversial call, but he made two more, ejecting both Lakers rookie Adou Thiero and Rockets guard Aaron Holiday with a little over a minute left in the game for being physical and talking trash to each other. Ironically, their contact looked more intentional than Ayton’s did.
“I didn’t get a great explanation on Adou,” said Redick after the game when asked why he was ejected. “I’m sure James [Williams] will give you that.”
LeBron was equally confused and angry.
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“I’m more pissed off about them kicking Adou out,” James said after the game. “I thought that was uncalled for and made no sense. That’s the first time he’s ever been thrown out of a game in his life. I don’t think that was warranted. That was ridiculous.”
Game 5 of the series between the Rockets and Lakers is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN.
