The Mavs and Clippers met for Game 6 of what has become a contentious series on Sunday, and it didn’t take long for things to get heated once again.
Los Angeles has made it clear that they want to make life miserable for Luka Doncic, being very physical with him and, at times, possibly crossing the line. Marcus Morris came under fire after Game 5 for stepping on Doncic’s injured ankle in what he insisted was an accident, but in Game 6 Morris was involved in another altercation with Doncic, this time earning a swift ejection late in the first quarter for his actions.
Morris and Doncic had been jawing back and forth, but after a foul called on Morris as Doncic drove into him, the Clippers forward took a violent swing at the Slovenian star’s neck and head knocking him to the ground. Teammates stepped between the two as Doncic popped up to confront Morris, and after review Morris was tossed for a Flagrant 2.
Morris vs Doncic, Morris ejected pic.twitter.com/gL1MrX4xnT
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 30, 2020
“I’m not gonna play with you…” pic.twitter.com/KewuIGpdAi
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 30, 2020
It was always going to be a flagrant foul of some variety, but one can’t help but think that, like with Dennis Schroder being ejected for a low blow yesterday against the Rockets, this ejection had some to do with the history of Morris and this series. It was certainly a hostile act and the league has taken a hard line stance against hits to the head in recent years, and now the Clippers will have to look to close out Dallas without a key contributor.