Rozier taught hard lesson
Loses cool, gets ejected late
WASHINGTON — Terry Rozier was given a lesson in composure last night by an irritating source — Wizards guard Brandon Jennings.
Both players were ejected with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 11689 loss, after each received technical fouls for talking to each other in the same fashion roughly a minute earlier.
Jennings started leaning on Rozier as the latter got set for an inbounds play. Rozier shoved Jennings as he broke free, continuing the chain of events on a particularly testy night. Eight technical fouls, including one for each coach, were called.
Rozier later declined to talk to the media, but his teammates had some simple advice.
“(Jennings) is going to do stuff like that, and (Rozier) just has to do a better job of holding his composure,” said Jae Crowder. “He knows it. Hopefully he can move on from it, and we have to have a more level head on our side to move forward.”
Said Avery Bradley: “(Rozier) just has to be smart, keep his composure, that’s what the best players do in this league. You’re going to have guys who try to test you in those situations.
“It’s tough. Sometimes you’re on the border of trying to stand up for yourself, and you have to be smart at the same time. We’re here to support him, and we know he’ll respond properly.”
C’s coach Brad Stevens, also whistled for his technical foul in the midst of the maelstrom surrounding Rozier and Jennings, responded with a Cheshire Cat smile when asked if the emotional issue between the two teams has to be addressed. “It’s a good question — they played well,” he said.
Kellys’ conflict
Kelly Oubre Jr. was also ejected in a second quarter incident, after lunging through the hold of referee
Monty McKutcheon to shove Kelly Olynyk to the floor. Olynyk had set a hard pick that knocked Oubre to the floor (Olynyk was whistled for an offensive foul) and the young Wizards forward took exception.
“It’s basketball. It happens,” Bradley said with a shrug. “I know Kelly isn’t trying to hurt anybody; he’s out there trying to play basketball. It comes with the game, whenever you’re playing physical. I’m just glad nobody is hurt.”
Isaiah Thomas also stood up for Olynyk, saying, “I don’t know what (Oubre) was doing. The screens we’ve been setting, especially in the backcourt, for the most part I feel like they’ve been legal. It’s just those guys fall and the refs call an offensive foul.
“I don’t know why he reacted like that, especially with Kelly. Kelly’s not trying to make anybody mad. Not to put anything on Kelly, but he’s just not like that. I guess you can pick and choose who you want to do that to.”
Oubre could be suspended and fined a maximum of $35,000 if the NBA deems his action serious enough. Olynyk, who said the crowd was too loud for him to hear what Oubre said, didn’t have an opinion on how the NBA should respond.
“That’s up to other people to decide,” he said.
All about toughness
Though the Wizards have clearly focused on attacking
Isaiah Thomas in the case of mismatches, Washington coach Scott Brooks cautioned last night that the Celtics guard isn’t as obvious a target as one might think.
“The game tells you where to go. The world looks at his size, but I don’t look at his size — I look at his toughness,” Brooks said. “The guy is one of the best players in the league, and he does it with toughness.
“He’s skilled, goes anywhere he wants to go,” he said. “He can score, but he has toughness that you can’t — if you have guys with that toughness, you put yourself in a position to win every night. “Anybody who guards
John ( Wall) is going to have a tough night because John is so good. Anybody who guards Isaiah is going to have a tough night because he is so good. But in the game, just keep moving the ball and get good looks. We’ve done that all season long.” . . .
File Bradley under the “good enough to play in the playoffs” heading. Though admittedly sore since suffering a hip pointer in Game 2, the C’s guard was back on the floor last night.
Bradley ended up logging 28 minutes — only Thomas logged more (29) for the C’s — posting seven points, two rebounds and three assists.