Hawks' Horford ejected for elbowing Dellavedova: 'He's got to learn'
Matthew Dellavedova is at it again.
Atlanta Hawks All-Star Al Horford was ejected from Sunday's Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers after being assessed a Flagrant-2 in the second quarter for dropping an elbow on the pesky Cavs guard.
Explanation (1/3): 34.3 seconds left/Q2: Horford threw an unnecessary and excessive forearm/elbow to Dellavedova, making contact.....
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 25, 2015
Explanation (2/3): 34.3 seconds left/Q2: ... Above the shoulders, therefore a Flagrant 2 foul was called on Horford...
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 25, 2015
Dellavedova, who was involved in the Game 2 play that dealt Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver a season-ending ankle injury, appeared to inadvertently roll on Horford's right knee before the elbow.
The only excuse for Horford's momentary lapse of judgment was that perhaps he felt the notorious instigator had an intent to injure another Hawks star. Having said that, Horford probably could have and should have gotten off with a Flagrant-1 given that he was falling naturally on the play, and it will be worth monitoring whether the league retroactively downgrades the foul.
That didn't help the Hawks on Sunday, however, as the East's top-seed now find themselves facing a 3-0 series deficit, one that no team has ever come back from in the NBA.
For his part, Horford didn't think he deserved to be ejected and didn't hold back that he believes Dellavedova needs to do better to play under control.
Al Horford says he thought Dellavedova went after him but he should've handled it better. "He has to learn it's a brotherhood here" - Al
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 25, 2015
More Horford on Delly: "We don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose. But, you know, with just his track record, I just felt like it was."
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) May 25, 2015
Horford added:
He's got to learn. He's only been in this league for a couple of years or whatever. But he's got to learn at the end of the day it's a big brotherhood here. Guys look out for each other. I don't think it was malicious, but he has to learn.
Dellavedova was assessed a technical foul on the play, although it wasn't clear whether that was a result of the play itself or the jawing that occurred afterward.
Dellavedova disagreed with Horford, saying: "I was boxing him out, and you can see from the baseline view that he's pulling my left arm down. I mean, the tape's there."
The sophomore guard was also involved in a second round play that got Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson ejected from the fourth quarter of Game 5.
The capacity crowd at Quicken Loans Arena chanted his name while the officials reviewed Sunday's incident.