The Morning After: Clippers vs Suns, Blake Griffin Shines
By Paul Tooke
3) DeAndre Jordan was ejected.
With just under five minutes left in the third quarter, Suns rookie Marquese Chriss went for a highlight dunk after grabbing a steal and DeAndre Jordan met him at the rim. Chriss was at the peak of his dunk whenever Jordan went for the block and caught his face while aiming for the ball. The Suns forward took a nasty bump on his front side after his body turned in the air upon contact. DeAndre immediately raised his hand and made an apologetic face as Chriss brushed himself off.
The refs headed to the replay center and Clippers’ commentators Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith debated the question, “Is it a flagrant one or two?” Both chose flagrant one, based on the fact that DeAndre was aiming to block the ball and got a little overzealous. (Editor’s note: Sadly, intent isn’t part of the judgment of the foul)
However, after a long debate between the referees, Jordan was ultimately ejected from the game. Doc Rivers, DeAndre, and likely every Clippers’ fan watching was shocked by the ruling. The best defensive player on the team was now out of the ball game and it was time for the Suns to take advantage of a weakened Clippers’ team. Thankfully, Blake Griffin was able to make up for the deficit.