Rajon Rondo refuses ball from ref twice for bizarre delay of game
Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo has always been a player who does things his own way, no matter the input he receives from coaches, teammates, and officials. Yet even that reputation could not prepare the basketball world for his actions at the end of the first half in Monday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena.
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With just over one second remaining on the clock in the second quarter, Rondo waited on the sideline to throw an inbounds pass for a potential buzzer-beater. The only problem is that he continued to wait after the referee gave him the ball, because Rondo refused to pick it up. That understandably earned a delay of game technical foul, and Kevin Durant made a free throw to increase the lead.
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Rondo did not learn his lesson. In fact, he made even less of an attempt to take the ball and received another technical for the delay of game. Take a look at the scene here:
Delays of game are issued to a team, not a player, so Rondo was not ejected after the second tech. However, it’s hard to see why he would have neglected to take the ball when the punishment gave Durant and the Thunder two free points. Even an ideal a scenario — a brilliant pass for an open jumper — could only have earned three points. Why risk it?
The answer is potentially only known to Rondo, so we won’t venture a guess.
At any rate, these two points didn’t matter much. The Thunder cruised to a 131-116 win, tying their season-high for scoring in a regulation contest. Rondo put up some decent stats, falling one rebound short of a triple-double with 11 points and 12 assists.
Russell Westbrook actually got one, though, putting up 20 points (6-of-8 FG), 15 assists, and 13 rebounds. Enes Kanter also excelled by making all 11 of his field goal attempts for 23 points.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
