The Milwaukee Bucks faced off against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night in a game that featured an extremely strange ejection after an altercation involving Bucks veteran center Brook Lopez.
The ejection occurred in the fourth quarter with the Bucks leading by just three points in an extremely close affair when Lopez got tied up with Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.
Trent seemed to be holding onto Lopez which clearly angered him, causing him to snatch Trent’s headband off his head and throw it onto the ground.
Brook Lopez got ejected for snatching Gary Trent Jr.'s headband 💀pic.twitter.com/3BLOUY7pzG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 18, 2023
Raptors players then got into the fray to defend their teammate, and a pushing and shoving match ensued between Lopez and a number of Toronto players as Bucks players tried to hold Lopez back.
The play ultimately resulted in Lopez being ejected after receiving two technical fouls for his involvement, along with Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby and Raptors assistant coach Jamaal Magloire receiving technical fouls.
Many NBA fans took to social media to react to this very strange interaction resulting in the ejection of Lopez on Tuesday night.
“Brook Lopez lost his mind, why did he take off Gary’s headband?” tweeted Libaan Osman of the Toronto Star.
Brook Lopez lost his mind, why did he take off Gary’s headband?
— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) January 18, 2023
“I’ve never seen a player take another player’s headband off like Brook Lopez did to Gary Trent Jr,” tweeted Ryan Wing of Fox11 in Milwaukee.
I’ve never seen a player take another player’s head band off like Brook Lopez did to Gary Trent Jr
— Ryan Wing (@RyanWingFOX11) January 18, 2023
This was a very rare moment for Lopez, marking the first time in his 15-year NBA career that he has ever been ejected.
He discussed the moment in hilarious fashion after the game when his teammate Joe Ingles asked why he decided to pull Gary Trent’s headband off his head during the play.
“It was just driving me so insane, I had to do something. It was talking to me,” said Lopez on Trent’s headband via Bally Sports Wisconsin on Twitter.
Brook Lopez spoke with @ZoraStephenson after his first career ejection. #FearTheDeer | #Bucks pic.twitter.com/lwkBBqZEet
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) January 18, 2023
The Bucks ultimately went on to win the game, so this bizarre ejection ultimately didn’t end up costing the team all that much in the end.
[ClutchPoints on Twitter, Bally Sports Wisconsin on Twitter] [Photo Credit: TNT]
