The Los Angeles Lakers Game 3 win against the Phoenix Suns saw L.A. take a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter, and the Suns’ inability to stop Los Angeles from scoring frustrated them.
The Suns couldn’t stop LeBron James from attacking the paint, which subsequently freed up more paint touches for Anthony Davis to thrive.
Dennis Schroder also had success when bursting to the rim, but the game turned scary for a brief moment in the closing minutes.
Schroder, guarded by Devin Booker, attacked Booker’s left and drove towards the basket. Upon going up to attempt an off-balanced layup, Booker shoved Schroder in mid-air to prevent him from shooting.
Schroder fell hard onto the hardwood and rolled around grimacing his shoulder. His teammates quickly went to his aid, but Schroder showed he was fine as he started doing push-ups, igniting claps around the arena.
Devin Booker was given a flagrant 2 and was ejected for this push of Dennis Schröder. pic.twitter.com/dJBseyJGkW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 28, 2021
But it was a very dangerous foul by Booker that could’ve resulted in a serious injury for Schroder. Referees went to review the play to check if it warranted more than a common foul, eventually deciding to call a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in Booker’s ejection.
After the game, James and Davis responded to Booker’s shove and were clearly unhappy, via Ryan Ward of LakersNation:
LeBron on Devin Booker's foul on Dennis Schroder: "I thought the play wasn't a basketball play."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) May 28, 2021
“Can’t happen… that’s a dirty play”
Anthony Davis on Devin Booker getting ejected for pushing Dennis Schroder pic.twitter.com/daRLhLD91Q
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 28, 2021
Schroder also gave his thoughts on the matter, sharing James’ sentiment about Booker simply not making a basketball play, via Harrison Faigen of SB Nation.
Dennis is clearly not happy about Devin Booker's foul on him in the lane at the end of the game.
"That wasn't a basketball play, and regular season, it's probably a suspension as well."
— We Believe Faigen (@hmfaigen) May 28, 2021
Though there hasn’t been much talk about Booker possibly receiving a suspension for Game 4, the next match is setting up to be even more heated than the previous three.
Jae Crowder, who was on the receiving end of a spectacular move by James, was also ejected from the game shortly after Booker. He continued to jaw at Schroder before Schroder attempted his free throws, and the referees sent him out.
Booker was given a chance to respond to Davis’ comments about his shove, but he did not answer, via Gerald Bourguet of FanSided:
Devin Booker was given a two-part question, the first of which was about Anthony Davis calling his foul on Dennis Schroder a "dirty play."
He jumped right into the second part of the question. Don't think he wanted to entertain the first part or provide bulletin board material
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) May 28, 2021
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