A Nets security official who made contact with Bucks forward P.J. Tucker during a Game 3 skirmish has been barred by the NBA from working any more games in Milwaukee for the rest of the series, according to Joe Vardon, Eric Nehm and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. The official, Antjuan Lambert, also won’t be allowed at courtside during the games in Brooklyn.
Lambert is employed by the team, but he has also been working for Kevin Durant since the star forward signed with Brooklyn in 2019. When Durant had an altercation with Tucker in the third quarter of Game 3, Lambert intervened and bumped into Tucker.
“In the heat of the moment you know people are coming to de-escalate things and try to get things under control and not bump and escalate and have things become a problem than what we’re trying to address or de-escalate,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And, in the 24-48 hours since, if it’s a Nets security guy and he’s bumping our player and things like that, that doesn’t seem like that’s the protocol and what we’d expect from any type of security.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former Bulls forward Paul Zipser had to undergo emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage this week, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Zipser is now playing for FC Bayern in Germany.
- Warriors guard Nico Mannion will be part of the Italian team for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, notes Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. Duke prospect Paolo Banchero, who received an Italian passport several months ago, hasn’t made a final decision on whether he’ll join Mannion.
- Former NBA center Timofey Mozgov is expected to represent Russia in its upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament, Borghesan adds in a separate piece. Injuries limited Mozgov to six games this season for his Khimki team, but he recently returned to action.
- Veteran NBA big man Amir Johnson will participate in The Basketball Tournament this summer, tweets J.D. Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Also playing will be Bruno Caboclo, who appeared in six games for the Rockets this season (Twitter link).
Durant and Caboclo in the same story? Is any team going to take another chance on the Brazilian KD who could still be “two years away from being two years away”?
To Think an organization gave this guy named Timofey 64 million just 5 years ago still blows my mind
KD is smart to hire the security on the court, or get the Nets to hire his personal bodyguard.
That way, when another player gets in your face, the dude on your payroll comes in belly bumping everybody.
If it wasn’t for the fact that guy was friends with Durant he would never be allowed to work security for the Nets again.
Another example of how the NBA is the softest it has ever been. Barkley, Rodman, Lambier, Shaq would bump guys worse than that every play and not even a foul called. Now it’s a headline.
Can you imagine anything like The Malice at the Palace happening now?
It’s the bumping by a guy who shouldn’t have been on the court that’s the problem.
Being “Friends with Kevin” seems like it’s a good NBA career move. How else can we explain the increasing popularity of Kendrick Perkins?