A disgruntled fan took things too far Wednesday night, and got themselves arrested for throwing beer on the court during the Boston Celtics loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
The incident was sparked by a blown call on All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker after getting leveled on a screen by Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge. Called for two quick technical fouls for the UConn product, resulting in the first ejection of his career.
The reason given for the ejection was that the Bronx native was using profanity directed at an official, reports MassLive’s Tom Westerholm.
A third technical was assessed to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens for vigorously defending his star player, crushing any hopes of a Boston comeback, and igniting vocal responses from an agitated crowd.
One such response included a fan who threw his beverage onto the court in the direction of the Spurs’ bench, spilling its contents and forcing a delay of the game as a result.
Kemba got ejected after a hard foul and then a Boston fan threw a beer onto the court 😳 pic.twitter.com/FnHlzPZQbp
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 9, 2020
ESPN reports the fan responsible was detained after the game and arrested.
Stevens apologized to San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich for the incident, saying,
“I’m sure the Celtics have already addressed this as an organization, but if not I apologize to the Spurs for what happened out of the stands … I told Pop after the game, I’m really sorry that they had to experience that. I hope that person’s not allowed in an NBA arena again.”
Walker, a two-time winner of the NBA’s Sportsmanship award, had a few words to share about the incident after the game.
“I thought I was being nice,” Walker offered. “I thought the ref missed a call and just voiced my opinion a little bit.
“I guess tonight he felt I said a little too much,” he added. “It’s his choice. It’s on those guys to make those decisions, so he made it.”
While the exchange was not the reason why the Celtics ended up needing to dig out of a hole in the third quarter as has become a habit in recent games, it snuffed out any chance of getting back in the contest, to the consternation of fans both present and viewing at home.
Danny Ainge reacts to the surprising ejection of Kemba Walker vs. the Spurs in his weekly call with @Toucherandrich: https://t.co/o2E3J8Aq1f
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) January 9, 2020
Danny Ainge appeared on local radio show Toucher and Rich the next day, and shared he believed the referee acted too aggressively in addressing the situation.
“I thought that the official reacted emotionally and too quickly,” explained Ainge.
“I think Kemba got up and was very frustrated without the call, and he cursed at the official. But it seemed almost as if he was cursing and the cursing was not finished yet when he got the first T. And then [the referee] should have just turned and walked away, and then if Kemba comes after him continually, then I understand it.”
“But it just seemed so quick, the second technical and the ejection, that — I don’t know, that was my take,” he added.
Ainge relates the team may challenge the second technical in an effort to get the associated fine rescinded.
Whether it was a case of inexperience or simply a trend of the league calling games aggressively on such issues is unknown, but the NBA will likely issue a statement on the incident over the course of the next day or two.
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