Taj Gibson got the short end of the stick on Tuesday when he was ejected from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Bulls and Cavs.
Early in the fourth quarter, Gibson crashed the boards after teammate Aaron Brooks attempted and made a layup. Gibson got tangled with Matthew Dellavedova, and the two went to the ground. When Gibson tried to get up, he couldn’t because Dellavedova had him in a leg lock.
Gibson kicked to free his leg, which is something the referees saw as an aggressive act. They called him for a flagrant-2 foul and ejected him from the game.
Not only the Bulls lose Gibson early in the fourth quarter, but Dellavedova got two free throws which he made, and the Cavs received the ball and made a layup. All in all, Dellavedova’s clever trick and the poor call by officials cost the Bulls a player and four points.
Here’s the setup to the leg lock:
And here is a great meme:
Matthew "Nature Boy” Dellavedova. WOOOOOO! @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/H2nT8FkuBw
— J.E. Skeets (@jeskeets) May 13, 2015
