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David West, Tristan Thompson get very physical, get T'd up during Game 5 scrap

Dan Devine
Senior NBA writer
Game 5 scuffle embed image
Game 5 scuffle embed image

Evidently, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t get all of their aggression out during Game 4 in Ohio. During the second quarter of Monday’s Game 5 back at Oracle Arena, we once again saw tempers flare in a face-to-face showdown — and I mean that very, very literally — between Cavs center Tristan Thompson and Warriors big man David West.

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With just over three minutes to go in the second quarter and the Warriors in the midst of a mammoth run to take control of a potential closeout Game 5, Kyrie Irving drove along the baseline and lofted up a floater. It didn’t go down, and West came down with the rebound. The Cavs point guard wasn’t done fighting for possession, though, and he reached in to try to wrest the ball away from the veteran bruiser. A fight for the ball ensued, and West took exception to Irving’s reach-in, shoving Kyrie away a bit as they parted.

Thompson, Irving’s longest tenured teammate and the Cavs’ hardest-nosed big man, immediately rushed over to get in West’s face. Like, really in his face.

After some pushing and shoving — including a push to West’s back by Cavs guard J.R. Smith, who sprinted in to join the fray before being spirited away by noted peacemaker Draymond Green — West and Thompson separated. Following a lengthy review, the officials assessed technical fouls to West, Thompson and Smith, meaning that despite West seeming to spark the whole thing, the Warriors wound up shooting a free throw in the deal.

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Thankfully, it didn’t escalate beyond that. Well, some of us were thankful, at least. Not everybody.

Oh, c’mon, Joel Embiid. You and I both know that the best path to reconciliation isn’t through war. It’s through love.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!