For the second succesive game, an opposing star was involved in a controversial collision near the Golden State Warriors logo at Oracle Arena. Two days after Draymond Green and LeBron James' altercation on Monday, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia fouled Oklahoma City Thunder star late in the first half Wednesday and then stood over Westbrook as he lay still on the ground.
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After a lengthy replay review, Pachulia was assessed a flagrant-1 foul. A couple of thoughts:
- On the previous Thunder possession, Westbrook drove to the basket, lost the ball and flailed his left arm wildly. That flailing left arm caught Pachulia above the shoulders. The taunting on the next play might have been retaliation for that.
- It's probably a good thing Westbrook was face down and unaware of what Pachulia was doing. If he knew what was happening, he could have jumped up and escalated the situation. Honestly, it's a little surprising that his teammates didn't run in there sooner and make Pachulia move. This could easily have been a much bigger scuffle.
