The Wizards-Celtics playoff series has seen some exciting basketball through the first two plus games of the series and in Game 3 the physical action got kicked up a couple notches.
With the Wizards building a 20 point lead in the second quarter, Kelly Olynyk of the Celtics set a hard screen on Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Wizards. While Olynyk caught Oubre high and was called for an offensive foul, it didn’t look like there was any intent on his part to injure Oubre. (Unlike say his controversial arm-wringer on Kevin Love a couple years ago.)
Perhaps knowing Olynyk’s reputation, or just being sent into a jolt of furious rage, Oubre got up and sprinted straight for Olynyk, shoving him to the ground.
Here’s the replay of the initial screen which shows Oubre hitting the deck before he sought out his own retribution.
While Oubre was kicked out of Game 3, it’s going to be difficult to see him suspended for Game 4 because he didn’t throw a punch. Even though it looked pretty crazy, all we’re talking about here is a really hard shove to the ground. Hacksaw Jim Duggan would be proud of the form on that flying shoulder tackle, though.
Given how quickly things escalated between Oubre and Olynyk, it’s actually unbelivable that more players didn’t jump in and it became a massive brawl. I guess it’s a good thing it’s not the 1980’s anymore…
