With 3.3 seconds remaining in Tuesday’s game, Lance Stephenson hit an uncontested layup.
He was not supposed to, according to the unwritten rules. The Indiana Pacers had already completed a resounding comeback to run the Toronto Raptors off the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor, quite literally – because the shot clock was off and the Pacers were up 15, the Raptors weren’t defending their own basket. As the rules go, you don’t score in these situations. Harmless though it may be, it’s considered a sign of disrespect or unprofessionalism. But Stephenson is Stephenson, and so he bumped himself up to 12 points on the night, enraging DeMar DeRozan and P.J. Tucker, who don’t suffer fools lightly.
Here’s a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIlCMKIrkmM
After the game, Tucker pulled no punches in calling out Stephenson’s actions. Tucker, clearly incensed enough already with his own team’s shaky play throughout the second half, took issue with Stephenson winning the wrong way. He also questioned who Stephenson even was after being asked about Born Ready’s reputation, saying he’s just happy he’s back in the league but “I don’t know what he’s so hype about.”
He was probably hype about the Pacers making a big comeback in a must-win game with their playoff lives on the line, if we’re being honest. For his part, Stephenson apologized to the Raptors for his late bucket. He said he was caught up in the moment with his return to Indiana and that he didn’t mean any harm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4EuYNlhZM4
What he should really be apologizing for is wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey. We know he owns better jerseys than this from his Snapchat early last summer.
Lance on snap whiling 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/rKfZcGgmez
— Makai’s dad (@AirGordon_) April 5, 2017
In any case, Stephenson’s apology seems legitimate, though the Raptors – Dwane Casey in particular – weren’t really willing to give Stephenson the benefit of the doubt given his history.
Casey on Lance Stephenson: "We know who he is, we know what he stands for."
— Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) April 5, 2017
There was one other member of the coaching staff who didn’t seem to appreciate the antics, either.
I’m no body language doctor, but it appears that Jamaal Magloire was trying to communicate with the Pacers before leaving the court pic.twitter.com/XWfP7qmI0u
— Coop (@CoopNBA) April 5, 2017
This is all a big fuss about very little, really. Stephenson is known as a bit of a goof and broke an unwritten rule that’s ultimately harmless. I’m sure most teams would have been mad about it, but there may be a little extra frustration on the part of the Raptors here since they turned a 19-point lead into an 18-point loss. If nothing else, it made the third meeting between these teams in the last 17 days interesting for a minute, which is a minor miracle.
