An otherwise straightforward Cavaliers blowout of the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday in the teams’ final game before the All-Star break got a little heated in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
With the Cavaliers up by 21 points and holding the ball with the shot clock off, veteran center Tristan Thompson drove to the basket and threw down a two-handed dunk with just 4.1 seconds left in the game to extend the lead to 23 (Twitter video link). As the Raptors inbounded the ball and ran out the clock, the home fans booed Thompson, who was confronted after the final buzzer by Toronto forward Scottie Barnes and guard Jamal Shead.
Following some brief shoving, players and coaches from both teams converged to separate Thompson and the Raptors as the two sides exchanged words. Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic criticized the Cavs big man after the game for what he viewed as an unnecessary exclamation point on Cleveland’s victory.
“I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful,” Rajakovic said (Twitter video link via The Toronto Star). “I’m not going to stand for that, for sure. I’m really glad that our guys, our players – Jamal, Scottie, and everybody else – that they stood up for themselves. I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class act.”
While Barnes didn’t speak to the media after the game, Shead agreed with his coach, telling reporters that the play was “a little bit disrespectful to the game of basketball, not just us,” per ESPN.
Raptors forward RJ Barrett noted that it’s “kind of an unwritten rule” not to try to run up the score in that situation, and even Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t exactly come rushing to the defense of his player.
“I’m not sure what he was thinking,” Atkinson said, according to ESPN. “Sometimes, though, you’re playing the game, and you just have a reaction. I know with Tristan, there’s no bad intention there. I think just sometimes you’re playing, and the goal of the game is to score. Unfortunate.”
For his part, Thompson – a Toronto native who has played almost exclusively in garbage time for the 44-10 Cavs this season – took to Twitter on Thursday to respond to Rajakovic’s comments and explain his actions.
“You wanna full court press with under a minute left in the game when you get cracked by 30 this will happen to you,” Thompson wrote. “Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy. Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of (GM) Bobby (Webster) and (president) Masai (Ujiri‘s) long term plan. Bless up stay warm in MY CITY.”
While it’s possible the brief post-game confrontation will result in a fine or two, it didn’t rise to the level to warrant a suspension for any of the players involved.
Just come out with it Tristan, you don’t like immigrants. Jk
Huh? He is Canadian. He doesn’t like himself?
No class!
Don’t lose by 21, they are professionals, every professional team should run up every single score they can, that’s what your paid for, stop them from running up the score, no surprise it’s Toronto crying
You can do anything you want in this world. Some players have class and want to show it at every turn. Tristan doesn’t have any class and is happy to show the world that he doesn’t care what others think. It won’t stop people from pointing it out though.
I’m split on this one i mean Tristan is not wrong but also dude I didn’t realize you were in the league anymore lol
It’s ALWAYS wrong to run up the score after the shot clock goes off for the last time!
What universe are you from??
I didn’t realize 2 pts was running up the score
When you are already up by 20, especially on the road even if it is your hometown, it is. No player or coach is actively trying to lose, because their future jobs are on the line regardless of what could be better for the team in the long run. So it is insulting to continue to pile on the points with undefended dunks after the shot clock has been turned off.
Nah this is crying to feel a win when you got demolished, Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead could’ve stopped that dunk but they don’t have the grit, only willing to push when it’ll for sure get broken up
Clearly you don’t know shyt about basketball!
joparx – No it just shows that you and Tristan have the same amount of class.
TT’s an older vet, plays token minutes nowadays. Let him have his remaining few moments on the court.
Watched the game, the RAPTORS should be offended by their perimeter defense that game.
Pure speculation-
I could imagine that with just 6 seconds left. TT realized this could be his last game in his hometown arena and went for the slam dunk. He tweeted what he did to cover. No ill will, he just had a sudden realization.
Just read the “Personal Life” section of Thompson’s Wikipedia page – he’s hardly a man of character and integrity.
Anybody who comments on somebody else’s personal life should automatically have the history of their lives documented for all to judge.
Sure, by my personal life doesn’t include cheating on pregnant girlfriends on multiple occasions.
I am glad for you and not surprised. Now try showing some class and grace. This is basketball and not tryouts for sainthood .
It’s also “kind of an unwritten rule” that every organization will try to win the games they play. Maybe they should all be set forth in writing, and even enforced.
Amen
Crying about dunks like that is lame. Literally only NBA players care. And most are hypocrites who would do it if they had the chance.
Is he still a Kardashian?
No that’s why he is seeking any attention he can get. He is mad cause Lamar Odem is getting the screen time now. He’s not even from Toronto for him to say it’s my city. He is a Brampton bum
Wasn’t expecting to side with TT on this but he’s not wrong in his response.
Except he is wrong because there was no full court press. Everyone else on both teams were just standing around. If you watch what happened you even see his own bench looking bewildered by what he had just done.
Atkinson saying he didn’t know what he did there is about as much of a public call out of his own player as we are going to see in that situation.
Classless move. Notice how not a single teammate went to back him up when the Raptors got pissed at him. That also speaks volumes.
I know this might be going against normal thought but a lot of what I think goes against normal thought.., but I’ve never understood this rule to begin with.
This unwritten rule that the game is over the last two possessions of the game? If the spread is say 15 or whatever, the last two possessions don’t count you just stand there?
Heck, run a play, it’s the scrubs anyway. They need some burn, they need to run.
I really never understood this. If it’s me out there, I’m going for it. I don’t give a crap about any unwritten rules. I was a scrub anyway when I played so any points I could get were absolutely added to my meager ledger totals lol
If I’m in the game and I play two minutes and I don’t score that takes my average down. I’m chucking it up no matter what. And I don’t understand for the life of me what’s wrong with that?
Ever played sports at a high level?
This situation was nuanced enough to have differences of opinion. Unwritten rules are unwritten for a reason. I’m not saying you’re wrong or that I’m right. I’m saying I understood his response and I think it was valid. It’s not black and white, it might be very dark gray, but not black or white.
WillDS, no, I didn’t. Only got as far as Junior college basketball in California. And even then I was a scrub.
It’s about wins and losses period. Stat padding is frowned upon and there isn’t any other way to describe it. Is what Tristan did an atrocity, no; but anyone who has been in the league as long as he has knows you don’t do it, regardless of what others think.
That’s a pretty good opinion greasy one. It’s about wins and losses and the game is already decided. Stat packing is always wrong so I guess the unwritten rule does make sense. Thank you for clarifying.
I agree.. I don’t think there needs to be a gentleman’s/sportsmanship rule…who really cares… better seeing action than players dribbling out clocks…yawn…also the 24 second clock should start when the ball hits either the court or player…
Anyone else notice the over/under was 237 on the game, it closed at 236.5 but did get to 237, a little sketchy and obvious to me.
Final score was 131 to 108 which adds up to 239. Which means it was 237 before the dunk. What exactly is your point?
237 is a tie which means the vig wins both sides of the over/under
When you cherry pick datapoints, you’re always going to find evidence of “sketchiness”.
Not criticizing so much as saying you probably don’t notice the other 99% of non-sketchy cases.
I guess I’m more with @Gary, although without remembering any specific concern for my stat lines. It might be era.
IMO, the notion (unwritten rule) that a team should not “try to run up the score” comes from football, where it made and still makes sense when the real rationale is understood. The taboo wasn’t to avoid being disrespectful to the other team, but to avoid disrespecting the game. It had nothing to do with not playing hard. The taboo addressed intent, not result.
When I played sports, in basketball (or any sport other than football), the notion never had any application. Teams played to the end of the game; if backups came in, it was to get them real competitive time, not to get them some moderate exercise bouncing the ball on offense, or watching the other team do it one defense. That it should enter basketball in such a limited context (the last few possessions), and in such a personal way, is a little bizzare to me. Particularly since the NBA itself, albeit under an idiotic Commissioner, has legitimized the idea that point differential does matter (i.e., a win isn’t merely a win), by using it in the standings for its in-season tournament.
For those who think what TT did was disrespectful, was it that because TOR’s defenders didn’t have sufficient notice that TT might be looking to do something like that and accordingly weren’t preparing to defend it? If he did telegraph his intent and TOR had a chance to defend, still disrespectful? Is it different if it were an in-season tournament game? I ask because it doesn’t come within the football rationale in any event.
That’s some A+ banter and shade throwing by Mr. Thompson. Good for him lol. Throwing a tantrum over something that trivial is toxic and pointless. They play a game for a living. It’s not that serious.
Clowns gonna clown
Clevelander here, and I don’t like it. What someone said about perhaps he wanted to throw one more down in his hometown could hold some merit.. but I’m not a fan. Like someone else said everyone knows you don’t do this from HS on up.
I’ve never understood why an opposing team gets their feelings hurt when a team scores on them like Thompson did hey you don’t like it stop them continue to play
Honestly, I dont care. But I dont like Tristan Thompson, so I will allow the hate
The game is over !!!! It’s decided !!!!
You kill the clock and go home. These are grown Aaa men.? Act professional ….. we need to argue this …….
nah Tristan just trying to pad
his stats
This is shame
I didn’t watch the game but as a neutral observer there is definitely no “full court press” in that Twitter clip. So idk what Tristan is yapping about.
But I also don’t think this is a big deal. Winning teams shoot/score in garbage time all the time. Most teams chuck a 3 but that’s still scoring. Are people just mad that the scoring in question looked good?
Both teams were playing normal until that last time up the court, Tor was still trying to score and then the last few seconds they decided to let him dribble it out but Tristan thought otherwise. They could have just as easily dribbled it out on their end but decided to keep chucking up shots
Tristian has serious anger issues. No wonder he can’t keep a woman.
“Disrespect”? The whole league is based on disrespect.
Thompson is a clown. Man isn’t even from Toronto and wants to claim the city as his just becomes he’s from the Greater Toronto Area. If we’re being honest here, Darko has a greater claim to Toronto actually having lived here the last one-and-a-half years than Thompson, who hasn’t lived in Canada since he was a high school freshman. Straight up just an opportunist who only looks out for himself and got carried his entire career.