Smith ejected after striking, injuring Crowder
BOSTON — The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ J.R. Smith was called for a flagrant-2 foul for striking the Celtics‘ Jae Crowder in the face and subsequently ejected with 10 minutes, 27 seconds left to play in the third quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Cavaliers won the game 101-93 to sweep the first-round series.
Crowder fell to the floor after the collision and had to be helped up by his teammates and ushered to the locker room for evaluation. On his way off the court Crowder exchanged words with several members of the Cleveland bench.
Crowder suffered a left knee sprain when he fell after contact with Smith, according to the Celtics. He will not return. He joined the starting lineup for Game 4 in place of Marcus Smart, who was late to shootaround Sunday morning.
Crowder’s injury was a continuation of the physical play that carried over from the first half. Cavs forward Kevin Love was knocked out of the game when he suffered a left shoulder injury on a play in which Kelly Olynyk was whistled for a loose-ball foul for pinning Love’s arm.
Later in the first half, Cavs reserve big man Kendrick Perkins pushed Crowder to the floor when setting a pick for LeBron James with 1:44 remaining in the second quarter.
On the ensuing fracas, Perkins appeared to jab Crowder in the face with his left fist. He and Crowder both received technical fouls.
After a referee’s review, Perkins was assessed a flagrant 1 foul for the play.
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