Anthony Davis reacts to Devin Booker's Flagrant 2 foul on Dennis Schroder: 'It's a dirty play'

Jordan Greer

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Anthony Davis reacts to Devin Booker's Flagrant 2 foul on Dennis Schroder: 'It's a dirty play' image

Anthony Davis was satisfied with the Lakers' 109-95 victory over the Suns on Thursday night, which gave Los Angeles a 2-1 series lead, but he certainly wasn't happy with how Game 3 ended.

With less than a minute to go in regulation and LA up double digits, Lakers guard Dennis Schroder drove into the paint against Suns star Devin Booker. As Schroder began to elevate toward the basket, Booker delivered a two-handed shove to Schroder, who hit the court hard and rolled out of bounds.

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After the officiating crew reviewed the play, Booker was given a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game. Booker's foul may have been the result of pent-up frustration, as he scored just 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in the loss. Phoenix forward Jae Crowder was also ejected not long after Booker for continuing to talk trash with Schroder.

When asked about Booker's foul during his postgame interview with TNT's Chris Haynes, Davis, who had a game-high 34 points and 11 rebounds, said that those kinds of plays simply "can't happen."

"I mean, they've been chirping, 'It's playoff basketball,' but you don't push a guy out of the air like that [with] two hands. It's a dirty play," Davis said. "Dennis could've really gotten hurt right there. You know, we keep it in between the lines. We never want to — I know [Suns coach] Monty [Williams]. He's not that type of coach. I mean, he's probably going to say something to him. He was my coach for three years [with the Pelicans].

"But that just can't happen. Hard fouls, things like that, playoff basketball, we accept those. But just to blatantly push a guy with two hands out of the air? It's a scary play. Good thing he's OK, but plays like that, it's unacceptable."

A little chippiness come playoff time isn't a bad thing, but referees will likely be on high alert in Game 4 so they can avoid a similar situation.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.