In the closing moments of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 108-97 road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dario Saric finished off a dunk with 12 seconds left. That basket pushed the Sixers’ lead to 107-97. Cavs guard Jordan Clarkson then collected the ball after it fell threw the hoop and tossed it at Saric’s back.
That move led to Clarkson getting a technical foul before being ejected and J.J. Redick sank a technical free throw to complete the game’s final margin. After the game, Clarkson explained what happened, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
There’s an unwritten rule in the NBA basically banning such a play. If you’re ahead by multiple possessions, and it’s your ball with one shot clock left, dribble out the clock and shake hands.
Saric didn’t do that and Clarkson grabbed the ball out of the net and flipped it into his back. Clarkson, naturally, was ejected.
“If anybody say different, that they wouldn’t have did that, that they’d have did something different, or anything else, they lying,” Clarkson said. “Especially if it was at that (point — he said play) of the game. They know what’s up. That’s it.”
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“It was not against the Cavs organization,” Saric said. “I saw Ben (Simmons) dunk the ball and I wanted to do the same. In one way, I want to apologize to them, because I finished that ball.”
Simmons dunked with 26.5 seconds remaining for a 10-point lead. No one threw the ball at him.
Clarkson’s maneuver may have endeared him to his teammates, though. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported after the game that multiple Cavs players told ESPN they respected Clarkson for taking action and “they appreciated him showing pride on their home court.”
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