Kyle Lowry played quite well in the Raptors' Game 3 win over the Warriors in the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, totaling 23 points and nine assists in Toronto's 123-109 victory.
The Raptors point guard threw his body around all night, winning loose balls and providing timely baskets for the winning team.
On one occasion, he threw his body straight off the court and into the courtside seats opposite the Raptors' bench while diving for a loose ball.
That's not an unusual occurrence in an NBA game, but what followed was.
As Lowry attempted to remove himself from the seats and get back onto the court, he was pushed by a fan seated in the area he dove.
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
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Lowry seemed bothered by the incident, and brought it to the attention of the officials. Soon after, the fan was removed from his seat, presumably for the duration of the contest.
Fan that pushed Kyle Lowry got ejected pic.twitter.com/TfNAccmhKa — ����Kid Presentable�� (@DFSBBallGuy) June 6, 2019
Lowry was asked about the confrontation following the game, and revealed that in addition to pushing him, the fan had also used vulgar language towards him.
Kyle Lowry on fan making contact with him in Oracle stands:
"There's no place for that. He had no reason to touch me. No reason to reach over two seats & to say some vulgar language to me. Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game." pic.twitter.com/QMoX1lqKIM — 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 6, 2019
Courtside seats at the NBA Finals -- in Oracle Arena's swan song, no less -- certainly don't come cheap, so you can bet that guy immediately regretted his decision. Fans should never be initiating physical contact with the players, and player-fan interactions have been an ongoing story throughout the NBA season.
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Another Warriors fan -- or group, rather -- who's been known to voice their opinions, agreed with the decision to remove the fan from the game.
That fan should have been kicked out. Do NOT shove the players especially since you couldn't defend yourself otherwise. @NBA @warriors Sorry!!! @Klow7 @Raptors! — Smash Mouth (@smashmouth) June 6, 2019
Words to the wise: Don't push the players, whether or not they're All-Stars.
