James Harden was ejected from Thursday’s game three after his hand seemed to make contact with Royce O’Neale’s groin area, and the former Nets star ripped the decision by the officials to toss him from the game.
“Unacceptable,” Harden said. “Unacceptable Flagrant 2. I’m not labeled as a dirty player. I didn’t hit him in a private area. When somebody is draped on you like that defensively, it’s just a natural basketball reaction. I didn’t hit him hard enough for him to fall down like that.”
The game was a chippy one, with Nic Claxton getting tossed for Brooklyn, not long after he was kicked by Joel Embiid after stepping over him when Embiid was on the ground. The intensity was certainly kicked up a notch, but Harden believed the officiating didn’t adjust to the playoff atmosphere, and made the wrong call on the play that led to his ejection.
“This is a playoff game,” Harden said. “You see things around the league that are much worse than what that play was. Honestly, I didn’t even think it was a foul on me. That can’t happen.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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