Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane got ejected for doing a volleyball spike on Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu as he was lying on the court during a 127-112 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday.
With 5:24 left in the third quarter and Orlando trailing by 14, Bane hit Okongwu’s arm as he attempted layup.
Okongwu fell to the ground and Bane swatted the ball at him before referee Evan Scott separated the two.
After a review, Bane was assessed a flagrant one for the foul and a technical foul for directing the ball at Okongwu, resulting in his ejection.
Bane left the game with nine points, three rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes at State Farm Arena.
Bane later explained that his swipe at the ball wasn’t intentionally aimed at Okongwu.
“Hard foul, I mean, we talk about that — no easy baskets,” Bane said after the game. “Nothing at the rim. Make them see the lights [on the ceiling] and hard foul.
“I swiped at the ball, and it happened to hit him and they made the call that they made.”
The Hawks — without their star point guard Trey Young (right MCL sprain) — snapped Orlando’s two-game win streak after the Magic beat the Hornets on Oct. 30 and the Wizards on Nov. 1.
The Magic play the Celtics on Friday.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
