Watch: Wizards’ Kelly Oubre Ejected From 116-89 Game 3 Win Vs Celtics For Shoving Kelly Olynyk

Thursday night’s Game 3 at Verizon Center between the Wizards and Celtics featured a fight between two Kellys, as Washington’s Kelly Oubre Jr. was tossed for pushing Boston’s Kelly Olynyk to the floor in retaliation for an aggressive screen.

Wizards’ Kelly Oubre Ejected from Game 3 Win vs Celtics

Early in the second quarter, as Washington led 45-24, center Olynyk knocked down small forward Oubre while playing defense, and the Wizards star took it personally. Oubre, a 21-year-old former first-round pick, fell to the court in pain and, after the whistle blew, raced from the top of the three-point arch to the baseline and evaded a referee to violently shove Olynyk to the ground, sending the Celtics star sliding backwards.

A giant all-out brawl between both teams ensued, as even coaches and officials became involved, including some that attempted to stop Oubre from exacting revenge on Olynyk but were a second too late. Oubre was called for a flagrant 2 foul and thrown out following a review, while Olynyk was simply penalized with an offensive foul. Fans chanted Oubre’s name during the review.

When Olynyk was asked if he was surprised when Oubre ran over to him, the Celtics big man simply said, “Yeah, man. I didn’t expect it.” However, Olynyk didn’t offer any further comment. With regards to a question about whether or not Oubre deserved a suspension, Olynyk simply said it was “up to other people to determine.”

The Wizards won the game 116-89 thanks to a 22-0 first-quarter run led by John Wall, Otto Porter and Bojan Bogdanovic. In the fourth quarter of the game, which included eight combined technical fouls, Washington’s Brandon Jennings was also ejected, as was the Celtics’ Terry Rozier. 

Oubre could be suspended for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Washington on Sunday night. The Celtics lead the second-round series 2-1. Skip Bayless called Olynyk’s screen a “borderline cheap-shot,” but said it was permissible. Bayless also conceded that Oubre’s foul was much worse.

Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, who scored 13 points on Thursday, stated after the game that there has been “bad blood” between the two squads dating back to the regular season, but that his team must now focus on winning Game 4.

“Whatever bad blood we’ve had in the season, it’s carried over to the playoffs,” Thomas said. “We’re just competing and trying to win, and they did that today. We took care of business at home, now we just gotta try to get Game 4.”

This certainly showed during the regular season, as the Celtics and Wizards recorded a combined 16 technical fouls in their four games before the playoffs.

Clearly, there is a trend in sports right now involving heated rivalries between Boston and Washington-area teams. The Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball have also exchanged a series of verbal and physical jabs this week.

Also on Thursday, the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 115-104 at Oracle Arena to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals and improve to 6-0 in the playoffs. Game 3 is Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

BOSTON, MA – MAY 2: Kelly Oubre Jr. #12 of the Washington Wizards looks on during the second quarter of Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on May 2, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Article by Pablo Mena