The Oklahoma City Thunder took a 2-0 lead against the Los Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference semifinals series on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren scored 22 points apiece to lead OKC to a 125-107 victory in Game 2.
While the Lakers led 58-57 at halftime and saw Austin Reaves bounce back with a 31-point game, an ugly 36-22 third quarter allowed the Thunder to take full control of the game.
The Lakers' 20 turnovers doomed them, with the Thunder taking advantage of those mistakes and scoring 26 points off them.
However, the win wasn't without controversy. In fact, in the third quarter, Reaves nearly got injured following a play by Gilgeous-Alexander.
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Gilgeous-Alexander and Reaves got entangled as the Lakers guard tried to prevent the Thunder scorer from getting open. SGA proceeded to pull Reaves' arm and hurt his elbow.
Reaves went down after the play and was seen holding his right elbow in pain.
Gilgeous-Alexander was called for an offensive foul, but OKC challenged the call, believing it was Reaves who initiated contact. Upon review, however, the referees not only maintained the Thunder star's foul but upgraded it to a Flagrant 1.
After the game, former NBA player Eddie Johnson expressed disappointment in Gilgeous-Alexander and his dangerous play toward Reaves. According to Johnson, who played 17 seasons in the league, it was a "flat out dirty maneuver."
Johnson added that the foul should have been called a Flagrant 2 instead of a Flagrant 1, especially since Reaves could have suffered a season-ending injury.
"This was a flagrant 2 and I am a SGA supporter. Flat out dirty maneuver. He could have dislocated Reeves elbow. I know. I got my shoulder dislocated on this same kind of play," Johnson wrote.
The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner didn't stop there. He also took issue with the Thunder's flopping during the game. He specifically pointed to Holmgren's acting in the first quarter to sell a foul by Deandre Ayton.
Johnson stated that he's "convinced the Thunder have an acting coach."
It will be interesting to see if the NBA will investigate the foul and hand down further punishment to Gilgeous-Alexander. It's worth noting that during the Lakers' first-round series with the Houston Rockets, an Amen Thompson foul on Reaves in Game 6 was upgraded to Flagrant 1 after review.
If the NBA upgrades SGA's foul on Reaves to a Flagrant 2, he would have two flagrant foul points. Accumulating four flagrant points results to a one-game suspension.
