Apr 18, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and Los Angeles Clippers forward JaMychal Green (4) both react after they both receive a technical foul during the second half in game three of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
April 20, 2019
The NBA rescinded technical fouls assessed to Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Clippers forward JaMychal Green on Friday after reviewing a call made during Thursday night’s game.
Durant and Green were exchanging words during the third quarter when the double-technical was called, stunning both players.
The decision to rescind was announced from the league’s @NBAOfficial account on Twitter.
The change was good for Durant, as he already received two technicals earlier in the series. An accumulation of seven technicals during the postseason carries an automatic one-game suspension. He had lobbied for the technicals to be rescinded after Thursday’s 132-105 victory.
–Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who missed Game 3 of his team’s first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night because of left knee soreness, is listed as doubtful for Game 4 on Saturday. The NBA announced his status in its injury report.
Embiid’s status has digressed from the first three games when he was listed as questionable. He continues to deal with left knee tendinitis, a problem throughout the regular season, when he missed 14 of the Sixers’ 24 games after the All-Star break.
Despite Embiid’s absence in Game 3, the visiting 76ers rolled to a 131-115 victory over the host Nets to take a 2-1 lead. Greg Monroe started in Embiid’s place and collected nine points on 4-for-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Game 4 of the best-of-seven will also be played in Brooklyn before the series shifts to Philadelphia on Tuesday.
–The status of Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin remains uncertain entering Saturday’s Game 3 of the team’s Eastern Conference first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Griffin missed the first two games with a left knee injury, and coach Dwane Casey didn’t shed any light on whether the six-time All-Star will return on Saturday for the eighth-seeded Pistons, who lost the first two games of the series in Milwaukee by an average of 28 points.
“Day-to-day. I’m not talking about Blake,” Casey told reporters after Friday’s practice. “Day-to-day. Same old words. Just like I am on coaching — day-to-day.”
–Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was scheduled to interview with the Los Angeles Lakers for their head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
The Lakers fired coach Luke Walton last week after three seasons and a 98-148 record.
Lue, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, L.A. Clippers and Cavaliers, became head coach in Cleveland during the 2015-16 season after David Blatt was fired.
–Field Level Media
