Denver Nuggets guard Rudy Fernandes was able to draw a technical foul on Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes by flopping backwards and pretending he had been hit in the face with Barnes' elbow during the fourth quarter of Friday night's NBA game in Denver.
Fernandes was covering Barnes on defense near the sideline while Barnes had the ball. Barnes swung his elbows aggressively with the basketball to try to give himself some room while looking for a Laker teammate to pass to. Barnes did not hit Fernandes, but Fernandes flopped backward as if he had been hit in the face.
The referee was behind Barnes back, but he saw Barnes' elbows flying and Fernandes' fake reaction to being "hit", so he called the technical foul on Barnes. Other referees, who may have been in better position to see how much air there actually was between Barnes' elbow and Fernandes' face, did not overrule the call.
Fortunately the call did not decide the game,...
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