As the game was winding down and the Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of a season sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday afternoon, OKC's Serge Ibaka was called for a flagrant foul after taking a swipe at the Clipper's Blake Griffin and hitting him in the groin.
The manner of the foul was cause for conversation Monday around the league, but it was Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant who made it clear what side of he's on when it comes to fouls of that nature.
"I probably would have smacked him in the mouth. I would have dealt with the pain afterwards."
This quote becomes more interesting when you consider the fact that these two teams aren't adverse to controversy, especially in regards to one another. If you'll recall, it was Metta World Peace's elbow against the Thunder's James Harden late last season that left him suspended for the first round of the playoffs.
Ibaka attempted to defend himself, claiming that he didn't purposely hit Griffin, but was trying to gain better position.
"He hit my hands away. He's strong, so when he grabs you, your jersey or whatever, and you try to defend yourself and rebound. So maybe you can do some move, not to hurt, [but] just to get good position. But then something happens where you get hurt in the paint. It's not anything where I want to try to hurt him. I'm not that kind of person. I just try to play hard, and that's it.
And Kendrick Perkins also came to his teammate's defense, arguing both players were equally in the wrong:
"I didn't see it to where it was like that flagrant. (Griffin) took (Ibaka's) arm and knocked him down. The dude (is) known for flopping anyway, so that's what it is," Thunder's Kendrick Perkins told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick after the game. "I was (angry). The (Clippers') reaction after that was kind of like Serge Ibaka against Blake Griffin.
"He ain't going to get the benefit of (the doubt) or what's really happening down there. You ain't seeing all the stuff that other people are doing. Serge ends up getting the bad end of the stick. I didn't like the whole thing-period. I thought it should've been a double foul."
The league will review Ibaka's foul on Griffin, and there's a chance that it could warrant a suspension, which would hold Ibaka out of the game against the Lakers on Tuesday night.
