The Lakers were not happy with how their playoff win ended.
With under 40 seconds remaining in the Lakers’ 109-95 win, guard Dennis Schroder went up for a layup, and while he was in mid-air, Suns star Devin Booker pushed him with two hands. After Schroder collided with Suns forward Jae Crowder, he crashed down hard to the floor.
After reviewing the play, which had the Lakers furious, Booker was ejected with a Flagrant-2 foul call. Crowder then quickly got a technical foul, following Booker off the court after apparently trying to confront Schröder.
After Los Angeles’ victory to secure a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series, Lakers big man Anthony Davis said Booker’s “blatant” push “can’t happen.”
“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,” Davis, who had 34 points and 11 rebounds, said during his postgame interview on TNT.
“Dennis could’ve really gotten hurt right there… 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 was indeed fine after he tumbled onto the court and managed to squeeze in a few pushups while down. Still, though, his teammates weren’t happy with Booker’s actions.
“I thought the play wasn’t a basketball play,” LeBron James said.
Schroder agreed and noted that “in the regular season, that’s probably a suspension as well.”
The NBA’s response to the situation is pending.
A struggling Booker finished the night with 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in 41 minutes of play. He recorded six assists and four rebounds.
Schroder closed out the night with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
The Lakers-Suns first round playoff series continues with Game 4 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Los Angeles.
