Did Goran Dragic take a swing at Cory Joseph in Heat-Raps Game 4?
I missed this in the moment late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, and since no whistles got blown, I didn’t take much notice of it until earlier … but Goran Dragic kind of cracked Cory Joseph in the face here, right?
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With just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the two point guards locked arms while fighting for position under the boards. As Dwyane Wade’s shot missed, Joseph had a hold of Dragic’s right hand. The Slovenian guard swung it free as Terrence Ross grabbed the rebound, and followed through with his left hand in the process, seeming to clip Joseph right in the mouth. Joseph immediately reacted, spinning toward referee Mike Callahan with a look of disbelief on his face. Callahan’s whistle stayed pocketed, though, and the physical play between the two guards continued.
Cory Joseph and Dragic are gonna fight soon.
— whitney (@its_whitney) May 10, 2016
They flying elbow Dragic threw at Joseph on the rebound on the Wade miss was insane. Vicious
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) May 10, 2016
And then Dragic had something to say about it to Joseph afterward https://t.co/I7FMdxwnuR
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 10, 2016
Raptors fans seeking retribution got some semblance of satisfaction a minute later, when Dragic received yet another shot to the mug courtesy of — naturally — DeMar DeRozan dribbling the ball directly off his foot and into Dragic’s poor face:
Even that satisfaction would be short-lived, though, as Dragic would come up big in overtime, bursting through the Raptors defense for an and-one layup that would help seal a Heat win that knotted the best-of-seven series up at two games apiece:
You can make an argument, as at least some Raptors fans surely have, that Dragic’s swing constitutes a punch. According to the NBA’s rulebook, punching fouls are supposed to prompt automatic ejection, two free throws and possession for the team of the punched party, and, at the commissioner’s discretion, a fine of up to $50,000 and/or a suspension. Clearly, that wasn’t the interpretation on the court at the time, with the refs electing to allow play to continue, perhaps viewing a not-quite-punch as a fair repayment of Joseph locking onto Dragic’s arm. (Or, perhaps, not viewing it at all, given Callahan’s vantage point from behind Joseph.)
Either way, it ought to be interesting to see if the play receives any further review from the league office ahead of Wednesday’s Game 5, because even if we’re not sure exactly what should have been called there, it sure does seem like something excessively physical happened.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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