Orlando came into the Staples Center and forgot to bring their Magic with them. The Los Angeles Clippers blew them out of the stadium with a 114-86 victory.
Not many things went right for the Magic, especially power forward Kyle O’Quinn. In the opening minutes of the game, O’Quinn attempts to make a mid-range jumper and literally shoots the ball backwards. Yes, you read that right. No player on either team interfered with the ball. It actually looked like Michael Jordan in “Space Jam” when the Monstars took his talent from him.
O’Quinn then chases the ball down for the over-and-back violation and, embarrassingly, takes a practice shot into the Clippers basket. This was followed by a delay-of-game whistle by the officials.
But that’s not all. Halfway through the second quarter, O’Quinn was ejected on a flagrant type 2 foul after he made significant contact with Blake Griffins face. As Blake was going up for the jam, O’Quinn met him mid-air with what looked like a legitimate block, but actually ended in a hard smack to the face.
I actually don’t agree with that call. It didn’t look like O’Quinn was intentionally attempting to directly armslap Griffin in the face, but a flagrant type two foul calls for automatic ejection. Either way, it wouldn’t have mattered much, as the Clippers won by 28 points.