Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane was ejected in the second half of their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night after he launched a ball toward Onyeka Okongwuâ€s head.
Bane was chasing down Okongwu on a fast break in the third quarter of the matchup at State Farm Arena, and fouled the Hawks forward on the way up. Bane got Okongwuâ€s arm and launched him down to the court, which is what initially drew the foul, but he then managed to grab the ball with his free hand and launch it at Okongwu — who was already on the ground.
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That sparked a bit of an altercation under the rim, though officials got it under control fairly quickly.
Bane was assessed a flagrant one foul for his initial foul on Okongwu, and then was hit with a technical for the ball throw and was ejected. He finished with nine points and three rebounds when he was ejected. The Magic were down by 14 points at the time. The Hawks cruised from there to pick up the 127-112 win.
Bane said after the game that he was “surprised” by the ejection.
“[It was] a hard foul. I mean, we talk about that, you know, no easy baskets, nothing at the rim, make them see the lights,” he said, via the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede. “A hard foul, I swiped at the ball and it happened to hit him. And they made the call that they made.”
It’s unclear if Bane will face any further discipline from the league.
Bane, who has had a number of similar heated incidents in his career, was dealt to the Magic in June in a blockbuster deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Bane averaged 19.2 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting just shy of 40% from behind the arc last season in Memphis, where he started his career after going No. 30 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft out of TCU.
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The 27-year-old, though, has struggled over the past week. Heâ€s been held to single digit points in their last three games while shooting just 3-of-9 from behind the arc combined.
Zaccharie Risacher led the Hawks with 21 points in the win, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points. All five of their starters hit double figures, too, which helped get them back to 4-4 on the season. Paolo Banchero led the magic with a near-triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Tristan da Silva added 20 points off the bench.
The Magic, now 3-5 on the season, will host the Boston Celtics next on Friday.
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