Lance Stephenson has a history of trolling his fellow NBA players, with his infamous moment blowing into LeBron James’ ear becoming a part of meme culture lore. The Indiana Pacers player was back up to his zany antics again, this time sparking anger from the Toronto Raptors after running up the score with an end of the game layup that sparked a little skirmish.
The Pacers were already up 105-90 with just seconds left to play and a raucous crowd at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse cheered on the Brooklyn, N.Y. native as he made a leisurely lay-up and then jogged off like it was no big deal. Raptors player P.J. Tucker wasn’t too pleased and tried to get it on with Stephenson who wisely walked off as both squads jawed at each other. Tucker spoke to media after the game and voiced his opinion on Stephenson’s last-second layup.
Bleacher Report writes:
Chief among the upset Toronto players was swingman P.J. Tucker, who did not shy away from hitting Stephenson with some pointed words after the loss.
“Tasteless,” Tucker said, per Vigilant Sports’ Scott Agness. “Classless. There’s nowhere in the league for that.”
Pacers small forward Paul George also chimed in on the matter during a post-game discussion with Fox Sports Indiana and acknowledged Stephenson—who finished with 12 points and three assists—may have taken things a bit too far.
“Lance knows better,” he said. “That’s like a cardinal rule to not lay the ball up when you up. But he did it, it’s the reason why Lance is Lance. We appreciate him, man. Everything he does for this organization, man. He comes out here and he works his butt off.”
Stephenson apologized for the show-up move but said he was caught in the moment of fans cheering him on and did it for them most of all. While that might be true, Lance is Lance just like his team captain said and that’s what makes him a fun watch whenever he’s on the court.
Peep the hilarious Twitter reactions on the flip.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/849432746577588225
—
Photo: YouTube/Instagram
