During last night’s Phoenix Suns victory over the Indiana Pacers, a scuffle broke out. With 46.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Earl Watson slapped at Channing Frye twice, causing Frye to respond with a push. What came next was an approach from Danny Granger which looked like a punch was on it’s way, as he was cheered on by Roy Hibbert waving his hands around behind him.
An all-in situation ensued, as players came together with officials and coaches trying to break up anything serious. What is amazing in the whole incident is that the only person ejected from the game was Channing Frye — for pushing Watson. A push. The referees eventually gave Frye a second technical on review on the tape, as it appeared to them that he had thrown a punch at Granger. In fact, if you watch closely, Frye merely fended off Granger’s advance — as any sane person would do. Just ask Rudy Tomjanovich.
In all of this, Watson was remarkably the only one NOT to get slapped with a technical — the guy who started it all. Ultimately, the punishment to Frye should not have exceeded that of Granger, who made a clear attack at Frye. All of this will of course be reviewed by the NBA and I’m sure that they’ll see that Frye (one of the true nice guys in the league) certainly did not throw a punch in the whole melee.
Here are some screen-capture pictures from the incident.
Video interview with Frye after the game courtesy of Valley of the Suns.
