Dwight Howard had a very eventful night when his Hawks took on the Boston Celtics on Monday at TD Garden.
In the third quarter, Howard took a hard foul from Boston’s Al Horford, a former long-time Hawk. Howard did not take kindly to the hard foul, and responded with a shove to Horford, which resulted in a technical foul:
1st: Dwight vs. Alpic.twitter.com/udpkmtaIhd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 28, 2017
Howard then picked up a second technical foul a few minutes later, for hanging on the rim. And a second technical foul of course means an automatic ejection:
https://youtu.be/Creop37d__k
Dwight Howard got ejected for this. #NBA pic.twitter.com/Ev2NXN9hZI
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 28, 2017
However, the NBA released a statement after the game saying that Howard’s hanging on the rim “should have been deemed non-unsportsmanlike and should not have resulted in his ejection.”
The NBA says Dwight Howard shouldn't have been ejected against the Celtics pic.twitter.com/6xGD9Z1Jwa
— Harry Lyles Jr. (@harrylylesjr) February 28, 2017
A bizarre situation, and what makes the night even crazier? Howard’s (incorrect) ejection may not have even been the most notable part of his night.
After being (incorrectly) ejected, Howard faked out a Celtics fan that was hoping to get his jersey:
https://youtu.be/5pCrFwfFRng
Dwight you’re cold for this. pic.twitter.com/lzJGDoMI02
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 28, 2017
Ouch. That Celtics fan was losing her mind in hopes that Howard would give her his jersey. Howard made some slight eye contact with her, before deciding to give the jersey to someone else.
That’s a cold-blooded move. He does it all without cracking a smile either. How was he able to keep a straight face after that reaction?
Oh, and as for the game, Howard still managed to put up 17 points with 12 rebounds in a 114-98 Hawks win.
