Elfrid Payton Got Ejected For Shoving Jae Crowder Late In A Blowout And Sparking A Melee

At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s been another rough season for the New York Knicks. After getting off to a brutal start early in the year, they compounded issues by creating all sorts of internal turmoil that led to the firing of head coach David Fizdale, sending morale plummeting to a new low.

And despite boasting an intriguing collection of young talent, they haven’t shown much progress in their development as the losses just keep piling up. Each new loss brings a new level of frustration, and they allowed things to boil over on Wednesday night late in a blowout against the Grizzlies.

With under a minute to play and Memphis holding a commanding lead, Elfrid Payton lost his cool and took a dangerous foul on Jae Crowder after a steal as he went up for a three, shoving him into the courtside seats and sparking a melee that ended in both of their ejections, along with several others.

It was an ignominious end to game that was already decided, and it’s likely the league will take a closer look at the ensuing fracas to determine whether further suspensions and/or fines could be in order. When the dust had settled, the Grizzlies got the 127-106 win on the road, but not before emotions added plenty of extra drama to the proceedings.

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