A skirmish broke out after Thompson threw down a dunk with four seconds remaining in a clear win
A skirmish broke out after Thompson threw down a dunk with four seconds remaining in a clear win
Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic was unhappy with a slam dunk from Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson in the final seconds of Cleveland’s 131-108 win on Wednesday.
With just four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Thompson drove to the rim and threw down an emphatic dunk. Once the clock hit zero, Raptors players Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead went over to Thompson to express their frustrations.
“I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful,” Rajakovic said after the game. “I’m not going to stand for that, for sure. I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class.”
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson also admitted he was a little perplexed by Thompson’s actions, especially since he’s from nearby Brampton, Ontario.
“I’m not sure what he was thinking,” Atkinson said. “Sometimes, though, you’re playing the game, and you just have a reaction. I know with Tristan, there’s no bad intention there. I think just sometimes you’re playing, and the goal of the game is to score. Unfortunate.”
“What he did at the end of the game was just a little bit disrespectful to the game of basketball, not just us,” Shead added. “We had a couple of choice words. We’re adults, we’ll move on from it.”
Thompson, who is currently in his 14th NBA season, has played in Toronto on several occasions, so it was a little bit of a surprising situation. The veteran big man finished the game with four points in four minutes late in the final quarter.
The Cavaliers recorded their eighth win over their last nine games, which was highlighted by a 21-point effort from star guard Donovan Mitchell.
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