Getty Rajon Rondo DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Morris Sr. and Nicolas Batum of the LA Clippers.
Los Angeles Clippers star DeMarcus Cousins was given a postgame technical foul after the team’s Game 2 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Cousins was issued the technical the day after Game 2 for shoving Suns standout Devin Booker, NBA Official announced via Twitter.
DeMarcus Cousins (LAC) has been assessed a postgame technical foul upon league review for actions at the conclusion of the game on 6/22/21.
In a series that has also involved fans of both teams getting into fisticuffs after Game 1, the chippiness of both teams spilled onto the court after the second game in the series, when Cousins pushed Booker after the game had concluded. As players were shaking hands after the Suns’ 104-103 victory, cameras caught Cousins shoving Booker on the court.
After reviewing the play, league officials decided the push from Boogie was worthy of getting a technical foul.
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Booker Already Had Been Bloodied in the Game
During the 3rd quarter, Booker and Clips guard Patrick Beverley knocked heads unintentionally, and Booker walked away with a thick gash on his nose. He headed to the locker room, where he received some stitches before he re-entered the game in the 4th quarter.
Devin Booker’s nose 😱
(via @MarcJSpears)
“They’re an aggressive team,” Booker said about the Suns after the game. “That’s how they guard. All those guys, they’re athletic. Watching the previous series against Dallas and Utah, switching everything and trying to turn teams over. But we’re figuring it out and we try to stay aggressive, stay with what we do and whether it’s basketball plays or not, we’ve got to move on to the next one.”
“He was probably playing with a great deal of pain,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the game. “I thought he broke his nose when I saw it. I was worried about the blood continuing to flow.”
“I’ve never had a broken nose,” Booker said, adding: “I’m still pretty confident. I hadn’t seen it until after the game, so I’ve got a couple shots in there, put stitches on the top. My first time seeing myself was after the game. They were telling me in the back that it wasn’t broken. Just a little crooked. It’s a little crooked, so we’ll see.”
Clippers in Another 0-2 Hole vs Suns
Los Angeles has managed to go down 0-2 in each of its first two playoff series so far in the postseason, and it isn’t going to get any easier in Game 3, when Suns superstar Chris Paul is expected to return to the lineup. L.A. won’t be getting its superstar back, however, as Kawhi Leonard is still out indefinitely with a knee injury.
Now, the Clippers have their backs against the wall yet again, but they say they’re ready to respond in a big way yet again.
“I don’t think you like to start two games in the hole. I don’t think that’s our plan,” Beverley said after the Clips’ Game 2 loss. “This game, I’ve played a lot of games in this league, this one’s hard. This one goes up there. This is a hard game to kind of swallow because you look at this game, I mean, we got this game won, you know. But we’ve been in the trenches before. We respond well in the trenches. We’ll respond well. We always do.”
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