Kyle Lowry calls out Warriors fan who pushed him in Oakland
Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry had one heck of an away game in Oakland last night, scoring 23 points against the Golden State Warriors during a well-earned, 123-109 victory, pulling his team ahead 2-1 in this year's NBA Finals.
The 33-year-old Philadelphia native (and 7-year Raptors veteran) was anything but thrilled, however, during a post-game press conference.
Blame the unidentified fan who needlessly shoved him on the sidelines for that.
Kyle Lowry was shaking his head after a courtside fan pushed him when he fell into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/5SwQv3hdnN
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 6, 2019
Lowry had been trying to save a ball from going out of bounds during the fourth quarter of Wednesday nights's Game 3 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland when he accidentally crashed into some seats.
One fan sitting in a seat near where Lowry landed can be seen in video footage appearing to lean over and intentionally shove the player.
The man is also alleged by Lowry to have said something inappropriate, though it has not yet been specified what that was.
"He reached over and put his hands on me for no reason then he said a couple vulgar words to me ... hopefully they ban him from all NBA games ever."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2019
—Kyle Lowry to @notthefakeSVP on a fan who pushed him after he fell into the crowd pic.twitter.com/2BdmdUahF8
"There's no place for that," said Lowry to reporters in Oakland following the game. "He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There's no place for people like that in our league."
"Hopefully, he never comes back to an NBA game," the Raptors point guard continued.
"People who sit courtside, they might get in on the action. Don't sit courtside if you don't want somebody touching you."
Kyle Lowry weighs in on the fan who was ejected for shoving the Raptors' point guard. pic.twitter.com/NamNOpbEZ3
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 6, 2019
The fan was ejected from Oracle Arena after the altercation, according to Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder, but fans of both teams are still irked by what happened.
"Good to see that jerk got removed from his courtside seat," wrote one on Twitter. "Would be most appropriate if his pass, and his presence, would be removed for the remainder of the Finals series! Actually, that should be the minimum sanction he should be subjected to! Disgusting and disgraceful!"
"Keep it classy Kyle, forget about them," wrote another. "Eyes on the Prize."
