Written by Jack Maloney at CBSSports.com
All right, so.
We’ve already gone over the Suns’ show-stopping plays and the Suns mascot diving onto the floor , but it’s time to go back to Phoenix to take a look at another bizarre moment from a surprisingly entertaining game.
Things got heated between the Wizards and Suns! 😨
Jared Dudley headbutts Jason Smith, gets ejected. Brandon Jennings was also ejected. pic.twitter.com/oM9Kc01HVi
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) March 8, 2017
OK, so first we have Jason Smith setting a brutal back-pick on Tyler Ulis, with the Suns guard running straight into the much larger Smith’s chest.
Obviously, Ulis’ teammates didn’t like that, particularly Jared Dudley, who decided he had a few things to say to Smith. But on the way over, he decided that words maybe weren’t going to get the point across, so instead, he delivered this strange combination headbutt/chest-bump thing that honestly didn’t look that effective.
But you know how things go, and Smith’s teammates were upset because Dudley was messing with their guy, and all of sudden there was a big mob of angry basketball men crowding around each other near midcourt. Which, with most NBA“fights” is where the action would end. Eventually the refs would get control of the situation, the players would meander back toward their benches, a few technicals would be handed out, and everyone would move on.
However, Brandon Jennings was not content to just do the classic pushing and yelling routine, and instead decided to break out the rarely seen gun gesture to make sure Dudley understood he was upset, or something. Instead, it only served to rile up Dudley, and the posturing crescendoed again.
Eventually, the players were separated, the refs consulted with one another and their colleagues in Secaucus, and Jared Dudley and Brandon Jennings were ejected from the game. Which, in the end seems pretty fair. They were the two instigators; Dudley made intentional and unnecessary contact with another player, and Jennings made a threatening gesture. There was no reason to let the two stick around and potentially have a situation where someone gets injured in retaliation.
To continue reading this article, click here.
