Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals ended with a bang after Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson was ejected for an inadvertent elbow to Golden State Warriors point guard Shaun Livingston following his attempt with the shot clock running out. Head coach Steve Kerr has since come to Livingston's defense for not taking the turnover.
His shot attempt sparked a heated series of events between players on both teams. According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Kerr says he is on a mission to put an end to the NBA's unwritten rules:
“I'm on a one-man crusade to dispell these idiotic NBA rituals. If there's a shot-clock violation, you shoot the ball. The game is telling you you're supposed to shoot…
It is well-known in the NBA that a team is not supposed to shoot the ball in the final seconds of a game if they have already secured the victory. Needless to say, Golden State did just that by outscoring Cleveland by 10 points in overtime.
However, Livingston ultimately found himself with the ball and a minor gap between the shot clock and the game clock. Rather than taking the turnover, he put up a mid-range jumper which was closely contested by Thompson. Although the Cavs big man may not have had the best intentions when contesting Livingston's shot, there was hardly any reason for him to be ejected up until his spat with power forward Draymond Green.
That said, it should be noted that things were getting rather hostile up until that point anyway. Livingston's shot just seemed to be the final straw for a deservedly frustrated Cavs team.
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