Plumlee Alteration Sparks Controversy! Suns Players Defend Teammates, Claim Ejection Was Unnecessary
With 3:21 left in their 111-104 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Phoenix Suns center Mason Plumlee and Rockets center Steven Adams got in an altercation that sent the bruising big men wrestling to the ground and resulted in a double ejection.
With Phoenix already down their starting center, Nick Richards, with an ankle injury, Plumlee’s ejection left Suns rookie Oso Ighodaro as the only remaining big man available for the rest of the game. Plumlee finished with four points and six rebounds in 13 minutes.
Plumlee and his teammates, however, didn’t think the altercation warranted an ejection.
“I wish that wasn’t the case but once they throw you out, there’s not much you can do,” Plumlee told Duan Rankin of The Arizona Republic after the game. “I’d like for them to keep the players in the game.”
“Nah,” Devin Booker said when asked if the altercation warranted an ejection. “Obviously, I’m biased, but I feel like Steven tried to pick him up and slam him and Mason happened to just be on top of him.”
“Nobody threw any blows,” Bradley Beal added. “No harm, no foul. Two techs and we’re cool with that, let’s keep it moving.”
“It’s just two guys getting tangled up,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Both physical, both competitors. I think if they just probably give them both a technical and they both stay in the game.”
Opponents have been meeting Phoenix with physicality for the better part of the season. It has become one of their weaknesses and Plumlee felt that he should address it in hopes of setting the tone moving forward. The Suns (30-36) are 2.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks (33-34) for the 10th seed and final Western Conference play-in spot.
