During Thursday night’s heated Game 3 between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, Kelly Oubre was ejected after physically going after Kelly Olynyk in the second quarter.
Olynyk was called for an offensive foul in the aftermath of the incident, with Oubre being slapped with a flagrant 2 and an early trip to the locker room.
Here’s the play and Oubre’s physical response that brought about the ejection.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/860295013992767488
On Friday, Oubre gave his side of the story, noting it was hardly the first time he was banged around by Olynyk.
Kelly Oubre on his outburst: "It was recurring events. I've been hit in the head multiple times by the same person." #Celtics #Wizards
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) May 5, 2017
The Wizards and Celtics have had some discord between them throughout the 2016-17 season, even before the playoffs. This is something Isaiah Thomas briefly discussed after his Celtics dropped Game 3.
“Whatever bad blood we’ve had in the season, it’s carried over to the playoffs,” Thomas said, per ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. “We’re just competing and trying to win, and they did that today. We took care of business at home, now we just gotta try to get Game 4.”
It’s going to be interesting to see if players can keep their cool going forward. Given the competitive nature of this series, nobody would be surprised if it went seven games. There’s a lot of basketball left to be played, and chances are things are going to get even more chippy as the series drags along.