When the Warriors and Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in a row, some bad blood was expected. Game 1, however, was mostly tame. There was the usual trash talk, but nothing really boiled over until late into the overtime period.
With the game essentially decided, Tristan Thompson went up to contest a shot from Shaun Livingston. A foul was called on Thompson and he was immediately ejected from the game. The reason? Nobody is really sure, but he was given a Flagrant 2 for this foul:
Tristan Thompson got ejected for this. pic.twitter.com/R4Aohbj7Uz
— Kyle Boone (@Kyle__Boone) June 1, 2018
This is where things got weird. As Thompson argued his immediate ejection and had words for Livingston, Draymond Green celebrated the call. Thompson took offense to that and shoved the ball in Green's face. That's when a scuffle broke out between Thompson and Green.
Not a good look, Tristan Thompson. #NBAFinals
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) June 1, 2018
Warriors take Game 1 over Cavs 124-114.
Game 2 is Sunday in Oakland pic.twitter.com/juTQs2GyXC
The fight was eventually broken up and Thompson walked off to the locker room. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said that the kerfuffle ensued because Thompson was upset at Livingston for attempting a shot at that point in the game.
Tristan Thompson said he didn't think it was appropriate for Shaun Livingston to take that shot with the time & score so he contested it. Said he wasn't attempting to flagrant foul, was surprised he got a flagrant-2.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 1, 2018
All of this was avoidable, though -- Thompson's foul was hardly worthy of an ejection, and it ended up leading to a fight. The referees lost control of a game that, up to that point, had been pretty clean.