It’s opening night for a good chunk of the NBA, and tempers are already flaring in Atlanta.
The Hawks kicked off their season Wednesday with the Brooklyn Nets in town, and the game was both competitive and chippy. Early in the fourth quarter, that physical play boiled over when Nets center Nic Claxton earned the season’s first ejection.
The moment came with 8:03 remaining in the game and the Hawks leading by three points. Dyson Daniels stole the ball from Cam Thomas and the Hawks raced off in transition. Waiting for Daniels at the rim, though, was Nets center Claxton, who clotheslined Daniels as he attempted the layup.
Daniels got up and immediately pursued Claxton into the stands. The two had to be broken up before the play could be reviewed.
Claxton was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and was therefore automatically ejected from the game after scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds in 15 minutes. Daniels was also handed a technical foul for his pursuit of Claxton.
Ironically, despite Claxton initiating the scuffle, the Nets were the team that gained points out of it. Cam Johnson made his technical free throw whereas Daniels missed both of his attempts at the line. Soon after the play, though, there was another hard foul by Cam Thomas on De’Andre Hunter.
This foul was ultimately ruled a common foul, but the Hawks were obviously upset after the earlier foul on Daniels.
The two teams needed again to be separated. The game continued without incident from there and the Hawks went on to win 120-116, but the league office will certainly be taking a closer look at these fouls in the days to come.
