The New York Knicks ended their game with a scuffle late in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. And despite overwhelming criticism being thrown towards Marcus Morris’ comments about it after the game, it was Jae Crowder who started it all.
With a blowout victory secured, Crowder stole an inbounds pass in the closing minute of the game and went up for a shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVZmnTpy4yI
He was, of course, pushed by Knicks guard Elfrid Payton with rage, and it’s all history after that. The altercation got a lot of folks talking and led to a lot of jabs being thrown from both sides. But, according to Paul Pierce, Crowder deserved what came to him.
Crowder broke an unwritten rule of the NBA. Despite the game being over, Crowder made it a point to steal the ball and go for a bucket in the closing seconds. It’s considered poor sportsmanship and just general disrespect towards the opponent.
Some will argue that there was enough time on the clock to warrant the play by Crowder, and the rule only applies to situations where there’s 15-or-so seconds left.
The community is split, but it’s fair to say that neither team handled the situation very well. For the Knicks especially, it was just one of many embarrassing incidents over the past 24 hours. Hopefully, they can get their act together soon.
