It didn’t take Lance Stephenson long to stir up some major drama in his return to the Indiana Pacers. In just the wing’s second game back with Indiana, he sparked a late-game scuffle against the Toronto Raptors.
With his team leading by 15 late in Tuesday’s game, Stephenson took an outlet pass and laid the ball in as time pretty much expired in the fourth quarter.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/849432746577588225
There are unwritten rules in basketball. And this is surely one of them. Don’t show up the other team in the late going of a game that has already been decided.
It’s something we saw happen to an extent when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Washington Wizards over the weekend. Though, that specific situation is still up for debate.
What Stephenson did here in just his second game back with Indiana is not acceptable. There’s a certain professionalism a player must display on the court. Stephenson didnt’t.
And in reality, the Raptors were right to respond the way they did.
P.J. Tucker was surely looking for a fight before his teammates and coaches pulled him back from the fray.
Luckily for Toronto, cooler heads prevailed.