"Kevin Durant did this & didn’t get ejected" - NBA fans erupt over Nic Claxton's ejection against Raptors
NBA fans were up in arms over what they perceived to be a questionable ejection of Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton in their road game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The incident happened early in the second quarter after Claxton flung the ball in the stands after he was intentionally fouled by Raptors center Kelly Olynyk at midcourt.
He was immediately tossed by the referee over it.
Fans shared their thoughts on Nic Claxton's ejection on social media, with many expressing doubt that he deserved such a penalty over what happened. Below are what some of them wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"Kevin Durant did this and didn't get ejected though," one fan moved to highlight.
"That's a very soft call tho," another user said.
"Ejection is for that is crazy," a fan chimed in.
More fans ripped the refs for ejecting Claxton.
"Soft a** refs man," one hit out at the referees.
"Thats not an ejection, free him," a user asserted.
However, one fan thanked the refs for aiding their tanking efforts.
"Refs helping us tank how nice of them," an obvious Nets fan wrote.
At the time of his ejection, Nic Claxton was having himself a good game, scoring seven points, going 3-of-5 from the field, and grabbing five rebounds with a block in 11 minutes.
Despite the early ejection of their starting center, the Nets beat the Raptors, 101-94, behind the 33-point and 10-rebound effort of Cam Johnson.
Brooklyn next plays at home on Saturday against the Utah Jazz.
Nic Claxton working his way back from back injury
Nic Claxton has had issues with his back in the ongoing NBA season, but he is happy to report that he is steadily making his way back from it and looking forward to helping the Brooklyn Nets better in their campaign.
The six-year NBA veteran out of the University of Georgia shared this in an interview with the New York Post, highlighting the progress he has been making since his back injury flared up early this season.
Claxton said:
"Just me being aggressive and just feeling like myself again. Picking my spots, watching film, and I just got to keep building off of that and be consistent."
He added:
"Physically, mentally, knowing everything's good with my back, just trusting in my body and just putting the work in."
Nic Claxton had one of his better games this season in their 118-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. He had a strong double-double effort of 21 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four assists, three steals and two blocks in 33 minutes of play.
For the season, Claxton is averaging 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 20 games for the Nets (11-16).