Watch Isaiah Thomas land a punch to the side of Dennis Schroder's head
Maybe you shouldn't get Isaiah Thomas angry...https://t.co/i6xGHahGqY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2016
Call it a slap, a blow, a punch or whatever noun comes to mind. Whatever this is, Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas could very well face discipline from the league for striking Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder during Game 3:
Tensions between both teams were high throughout much of the game, a 111-103 Boston win, and Thomas and Schroder continued to get under each other's skin after their early altercation. On a subsequent play, both were issued technical fouls after a foul and a bit of jawing back and forth.
Dennis Schroder discusses his first-half incident with Celtics PG Isaiah Thomas and what needs to happen in Game 4: https://t.co/oJvJNIKCq8
— FOX Sports Southeast (@FOXSportsSE) April 23, 2016
Schroder received a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter after coming down hard on Thomas in an attempt to block the Celtic's shot. Schroder told reporters after the game that he received an apology from one of the officials for having missed the blow to the head.
Full postgame reaction from Dennis Schroder in locker room with reporters on Isaiah Thomas hit to face. pic.twitter.com/suDm5IFyAW
— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) April 23, 2016
Dennis Schröder tweeted and then deleted this: pic.twitter.com/62FrCgNGMt
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) April 23, 2016
Thomas, who scored a career-high 42 points in the win, said he didn't expect to be suspended and claimed that the punch was not on purpose.
However, many were quick to compare Thomas' actions to those of Memphis Grizzlies big man Zach Randolph, who was suspended during the 2014 playoffs for this blow to Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams:
In both this instance and the Randolph situation, the initial play went unreviewed by the officials on the floor. For now, Thomas will have to wait for the league to review the play.