Boston Celtics foward Jae Crowder and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall got involved in a skirmish at the conclusion of a 117-108 victory by the Celtics.
Crowder was clearly seen sticking his finger in Wall’s face, forcing the star guard to retaliate with a hit of his own following a heated exchange.
Teammates came to both players’ side, but that didn’t stop Wall from taking one more swipe at Crowder. Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier were seen in the midst of it all in attempt to confront the situation.
Boston police officers were standing between Celtics and Wizards locker room after the game because of this Wall and Crowder altercation pic.twitter.com/bbrf9MUojJ
— WeNotLazy (@nowenotlazy) January 12, 2017
JC decided to step up to the plate and talk about what’s really been going on during the game.
“It started during the game, a lot of disrespectful talk from his side that led to that,” Crowder said. “I think it’s been like that a few games since last year.”
He’s absolutely right. These two teams have had a history dating back to last year where Crowder accused Washington head coach Randy Wittman of cursing at him and was issued a technical foul for his backlash to the coach. Smart and Wall were even engaged in an argument over a blowout victory by the Wizards in November.
The All-Star point guard only downplayed the events that took place when he addressed the media.
“Just some altercation. We knew there was going to be some trash-talking,” Wall said. “We knew it was going to be a physical game. That’s all it was: Just a little trash-talking and a physical game.”
Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. had a different opinion, stating that Boston plays with a “dirty style of play”.
Crowder responded to Porter’s accusations brilliantly.
“That’s the first time I’d ever heard that one, but it is what it is,” Crowder said. “I know we play harder. We do play harder, and it’s not going to be easy. Guys know that. I don’t look at it as dirty, though.”
The league decided to take action today and announced that both players involved in the altercation were to be fined. Crowder got the stricter punishment with $25K and Wall was issued only a $15K fee.
The NBA announced today that it has fined Jae Crowder $25k and John Wall $15k for their postgame confrontation Wednesday night.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) January 14, 2017
Boston plays Washington again January 24th at the Verizon Center in D.C. This game should have some compelling headlines heading into its match-up.
Twitter: @Machen55
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