PJ Tucker and Dennis Schroder were both ejected on Saturday night following their heated Game 5 altercation, which saw the Houston Rockets forward headbutt the Oklahoma City Thunder guard. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, it’s possible that the league may hand down further disciplinary sanctions on Tucker for his actions in Game 5.
As for Tucker’s headbutt and the ensuing decision, that was an obvious and necessary call. Sources say the league is investigating that situation, and there could be further discipline coming Tucker’s way. The NBA’s longtime disciplinarian, executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, was sitting front row when this all happened and was glued to his phone after the game was over (Byron Spruell, the president of league operations who oversees this department, is also here).
The two got into each other’s faces midway through the third quarter. This came as a result of what looked like Schroder hitting Tucker’s crotch while the latter set a pick. The Rockets burly forward clearly didn’t appreciate this. He quickly went towards Schroder and gave him a headbutt to the back of his head as the German guard busily complained to the referees.
The officials issued a flagrant foul 2 for Schroder’s hit to Tucker’s groin. Houston reportedly asked the league office to investigate the play. There are still no reports whether the NBA will hand down further punishment on Schroder for the alleged low blow.
Tucker tallied five points, six rebounds, and two steals in 21 minutes before exiting early towards the showers in Houston's dominant 114-80 Game 5 win over Oklahoma City. Houston will look to close out the series on Monday. Having their stocky enforcer available would certainly increase their chances on moving on to round two.
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