NBA Won’t Discipline JR Smith for Horford Foul

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ JR Smith  will not be disciplined for a nasty foul on the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford.

The incident occured with 3.37 left of the 4th quarter during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals matchup. JR Smith shoved Al Horford in midair while the forward was attempting to catch an alley oop near the rim.

The Boston Celtics won the game 107 – 94 on Tuesday night, yet controversy rumbles on over the foul.

According to EPSN, the NBA has decided not to penalise JR Smith further than he was on the night. After a review by officials, the incident resulted in a flagrant foul 1 on JR Smith.

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Smith said that the decision was a “good call” and admitted that he “blatantly” pushed Al Horford.

“It wasn’t like I was trying to low-bridge him or something to make sure he didn’t get it. It was a good, hard foul,” Smith said. “I can understand why they gave me a flagrant.”

Afterwards, Boston’s Marcus Smart got in the face of Smith, causing smith to push smart away. Technical fouls were called on both players for the scuffle.

Marcus Smart was still fuming after the game, via 247Sports:

“That’s a dirty shot,” said Marcus Smart. “You can’t allow that to keep happening. That’s not the first time J.R. has done some dirty stuff, especially against us. He’s known for it. It’s like a bully. You let the bully keep picking on you, he’s going to keep picking on you until you stand up and that’s what I tried to do. One of my guys was down and I took offense to it.”

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tryonn Lue accused the Celtics of “gooning it up” after the game. Boston forward Marcus Morris responded, saying that was a “good word”.

“S—, we’re doing what it takes,” said Morris. “Whatever it takes, every player, 1 to 15, whatever it takes, that’s what we’re doing. You call it what you want to call it. We’re just trying to get the win.”