To say that the ending of Game 3 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns didn't go so smoothly would be the biggest understatement of the NBA playoffs thus far.
Suns All-Star Devin Booker's dangerous shove on Lakers guard Dennis Schroder has been shared endlessly on social media.
If you haven't seen it, peep the clip below:
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
Although most were furious at Booker's actions, there were some voices online that pointed out Schroder's role in instigating the hostility. The Lakers guard spoke up on the matter, insisting that he was merely dishing out what he was receiving.
Via AZCentral's Duane Rankin:
“My mom raised me right. And at the end of the day, when somebody talks to me first, I'm going to talk back. It don't matter who it is. If somebody talks to me disrespectfully, I'm going to do the same. We're going to battle. Nobody is going to disrespect me.”
Schroder continued, per Lakers SB Nation reporter Harrison Faigen:
“If somebody disrespects me first, I'm gonna do the same thing… I was talking to somebody and he took it too sensitive and fouled me.”
“That wasn't a basketball play, and regular season, it's probably a suspension as well.”
Dennis Schroder claimed that it was Booker who was initially going after him, and that any unsavory words coming from him were mere rebuttals. But all in all, the fact that he didn't suffer any serious damage to land on the Lakers' injury report is the most important aspect here. That, of course, and getting the win for Los Angeles to take a 2-1 series lead and home-court advantage.
“First game we played terrible. Second game we did a good job on the defensive end… Today we was better than Game 2 in Phoenix,” Schroder concluded.
The crucial Game 4 is on Sunday.
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