Video: Pacers' David West earns flagrant foul for shoving Hawks' Al Horford
Pacers forward David West was hit with a flagrant foul 1 for shoving Hawks center Al Horford to the court during Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday.
With a little less than seven minutes remaining in the second quarter and the Hawks leading 38-17, Horford brought the ball up in transition. West, trailing the play, used his right arm to attempt a steal from Horford's right but then used his left arm to shove Horford in the back, sending him sprawling to the court. Horford went airborne near the free throw line and wound up sliding all the way to the baseline.
In response, Hawks guard Jeff Teague shoved West, which set off an exchange of heated words between the two teams under the Hawks basket. The hijinks were resolved fairly quickly and West received a flagrant foul 1 for the shove while Teague was given a technical foul for his response.
A flagrant foul 1 designation applies to fouls deemed "unnecessary" while a flagrant foul 2 applies to plays that are both “unnecessary and excessive.” All flagrant fouls are reviewed by the NBA league office and subject to possible further discipline that could include a fine and/or suspension.
The Hawks went on to defeat the Pacers 90-69. Horford finished with a game-high 26 points (on 12-for-20 shooting), 16 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 40 minutes. West put up a team-high 18 points (on seven-for-14 shooting) and six rebounds in a losing effort.
Indiana, the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed, now leads its first-round playoff series 2-1 over Atlanta, the No. 6 seed. Game 4 is set for Monday in Atlanta.
