Alperen Sengun Doesn’t Think Deandre Ayton Should’ve Been Ejected

The defense that Deandre Ayton has played on Alperen Sengun is a big reason why the Los Angeles Lakers were able to jump out to a 3-0 series lead against the Houston Rockets. Ayton has been able to match his physicality and make life tough on the All-Star, but unfortunately one play during Game 4 was a bit too much in the eyes of the officials.

While defending Sengun in the third quarter, Ayton’s elbow went a bit too high and caught Sengun in the head and, after reviewing it, officials determined that it was a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected the Lakers center. Some believe the play wasn’t deserving of an ejection and among them was Sengun himself, who thought the call was soft, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I don’t want to make the officials crazy, but I mean, I didn’t expect them to eject him to be honest,” Sengun said. “I think it was a little bit soft. … I guess it is what it is, they called it. I’m glad they called it. So, we go from there.”

Sengun is a physical player who thrives on contact so him having this belief really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Even still, it isn’t often that you hear a player saying something like this about an ejection of an opponent, but Sengun was simply being honest.

Ayton also explained what happened from his point of view after the game, saying that he was simply trying to brace for the contact that he knew was coming, but his elbow slipped and went higher due to both players being sweaty. In his defense, the initial contact from Ayton did start on Sengun’s shoulder which gives credence to his explanation and obviously the Rockets star doesn’t feel there was ill-intent there either.

All of this will only lead to an electric atmosphere for Game 5 between these teams back in L.A. at the Crypto.com Arena. The Rockets were able to avoid the sweep, but the tensions between these teams is growing and when they take the court on Wednesday night, everyone on both sides should be locked in.

Luka Doncic says he will pay fine for Lakers rookie Adou Thiero

In the final minutes of the game, there was another minor altercation with rookie Adou Thiero battling with Rockets guard Aaron Holiday for a rebound and the referees quickly ejected both. This also did not sit well with the Lakers and superstar Luka Doncic has already pledged to pay any fine the rookie may receive.