In a really weird turn of events for the worst, as the Chicago Bulls are taking on superstar big man Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on the night of Nov. 15 at the Staples Center, an ejection was handed out for something you don’t see very often. Late in the third quarter, Davis apparently had some choice words for the referee after the man in the stripes didn’t stop play to allow him to put his shoe back on following a turnover.
AD wound up turning the ball over unintentionally after he lost his shoe trying to go up and get a lob pass from his teammate. While he was trying to put his shoe back on when the Bulls got the ball on an inbound play, the ref let the play continue.
Clearly, AD got upset about this, and the referee probably should’ve let him have more time to get his shoe on. Whatever AD said to the referee following the stoppage in play once he lost his shoe caused him to get his second technical foul of the game and get ejected.
This is just something you don’t see all that often. And in what was an otherwise frustrating night for AD and the Lakers in the absence of superstar forward LeBron James yet again, things really went south for him in the second half.
Chicago Bulls frustrate Anthony Davis before ejection in the third quarter
Anthony Davis was ejected for the 2nd time in his career. He was double teamed 15 times tonight, his most in any game with the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/fVjIADD2e1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 16, 2021
By the time AD was ejected in the third quarter, the Bulls already had a commanding lead of more than 20 points over the Lakers.
This wound up being just the second ejection of AD’s career. That just goes to show how frustrating of a night it was for AD and the Lakers against second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls.
All in all, Davis still had a pretty productive night. He got off to a slow start for the Lakers, with a season-high 15 double-teams put on by the Bulls’ defense, but still wound up with 20 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal. But he also had four turnovers on the night before getting ejected.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bulls owned a commanding 94-73 lead behind an explosive night from star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. At the end of the third, DeRozan had a game-high 36 points on an efficient 14-of-20 shooting from the field.