It was ejections galore in the NBA on Thursday night.
LA Clippers guard Kris Dunn was thrown out of his team’s game against the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter. Dunn was running into position away from the ball in the halfcourt when he got tripped by Mavs guard Jazian Gortman. He then responded by taking a swing at Gortman’s neck area.
Here is the video.
Jazian Gortman and Kris Dunn just had to be separated by the referees.
This play is under review. pic.twitter.com/WZNlhXGgig
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) December 20, 2024
Gortman was assessed a technical foul for the initial trip on Dunn while Dunn was given a flagrant-2 foul for his retaliation and ejected.
The 21-year-old Gortman is a little-known second-year player who went undrafted in 2023 and is on a two-way contract. But seeing some extended minutes on Thursday in the injury absences of both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Gortman managed to make an impact by getting Dunn, perhaps the Clippers’ most important defensive player this season, ejected.
Something was definitely in the water in the NBA on Thursday. Dunn’s ejection came shortly after Brooklyn center Nic Claxton was also ejected for throwing a ball into the stands in a different game and both Jordan Clarkson and Ron Holland were ejected for squaring up in a third game.
