Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen was ejected with 5 minutes, 45 seconds left in the third quarter of the Bucks’ game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at Fiserv Forum for committing a Flagrant 2 foul on Bulls guard Alex Caruso.
On a fast break, Caruso took off for a layup and Allen swept in from the wing. As both players elevated, Allen hooked Caruso’s right arm and turned the Bulls guard horizontal in the air, and he fell hard under the basket.
The play was reviewed and the officials assessed Allen a Flagrant 2, which results in an immediate ejection. Caruso missed the free throws after the foul.
Chicago head coach Billy Donovan had strong words about the play, and about Allen, after the game.
“It was really bad,” he began. “It was really, really bad. We lost Patrick (Williams) on a flagrant foul, a pretty significant injury. I said this after the game, (New York’s) Mitchell Robinson was trying to make a legitimate play on the basketball. For Alex to be in the air and for him to take him down like that, he could’ve ended his career.
“He has a history of this. That to me was really, it was really dangerous. I hope the league takes a hard look at something like that because they could have really, really seriously hurt him. He’s dealing with his wrist right now. I don’t know to what extent his wrist is, but just being there, it was really, really dangerous to go after somebody like that.
“I personally thought it was – it wasn’t good. It was not good. For it to be even be extended to a Flagrant 2 and be thrown out of the game, clearly the officials must have felt there was some intent there, the way he yanked him and snapped him to the floor, his head bounced off the floor. Really, really, really dangerous play.”
Donovan was then asked by Chicago media if he had a chance to speak to Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer about the play after the game, but instead Donovan shared more thoughts on Allen and again voiced hope the NBA would take a look at the play.
“I have a lot of respect for ‘Bud’ and these guys are all professional athletes,” Donovan said. “Nothing towards ‘Bud’ at all. But I just think to do that to a player is just really — you could have really, really jeopardized his career in a lot of ways. I don’t know what his response would be to it, maybe he didn’t mean to do it, I don’t know. I just know the play looked really, really bad. On a guy that’s got a history of doing that, all the way back to college.
“I hope the league takes a hard look at some thing like that. Because God forbid this guy was in a stretcher going out of the building right now. That would not be good. I know this is a physical game and there’s plays at the basket and there’s a lot of contact, things like that, but there’s a right way you can go up and have physicality when you do that. Not that way in my opinion.”
Opinion:How long can Mavericks’ Luka Doncic avoid the criticism Lakers’ Russell Westbrook gets?
More:Sixers’ Doc Rivers defends his coaching after blowing 24-point lead in loss to Clippers
According to the NBA, a Flagrant 2 is considered “unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.”
“It’s a hard play,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game, which Milwaukee won 94-90. “I think Grayson, nothing malicious, went to block the shot. I think it’s a close call. They went with Flagrant 2 and I’m not going to disagree. It’s right on the border and that’s the direction they went. Hope for Caruso to be healthy and fine coming out of it, he played a lot after. It’s unfortunate for Grayson, unfortunate for us to finish without him. It’s a tough call but that’s the way they went.”
Allen finished the game with five points on 2 of 5 shooting in 20 minutes. Caruso played 23 minutes and was 3-for-11 from the floor for seven points. He also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Contact Jim Owczarski at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at @JimOwczarski or Facebook at facebook.com/JOwczarski.
