Chapter 735: Chapter 735

Jokic was positioning for an attack when he charged directly at Pachulia, knocking him to the ground like a bull.

Because the move was sudden and with malicious intent, Pachulia couldn’t adjust his balance and fell with his shoulder hitting the floor, causing him to lie there clutching his shoulder in pain.

The referee immediately blew the whistle to stop the game.

At this point, it was interesting on the field; several Warriors players gathered around but didn’t confront Jokic.

Because the guy who usually plays that role, Green, was sitting on the bench.

As for James, he didn’t even walk over. A player like Pachulia wasn’t worth risking for him.

The game entered a technical timeout.

The referees gathered at the scorer’s table to discuss the penalty for Jokic, while the LED screen at the venue started replaying the previous play.

Jokic’s impulsive action seemed irrational, but after the replay, fans realized why he acted so impulsively.

Pachulia gained fame for his footwork against the Spurs, but stepping on feet isn’t his forte.

Popovich’s previous curses at Pachulia were hypocritical, yet not unfounded.

Pachulia is skilled in stepping, arm-breaking, elbow strikes, groin kicks, and scissor legs.

And what he just used on Jokic was his signature move: Punch to Palm.

As the name suggests, it’s about swinging a fist at the opponent’s head during a confrontation, but then quickly opening up to a palm, making it look like just a slap.

In intense competition, referees won’t penalize unless they see the punch.

But Jokic couldn’t take it, or rather, Jokic’s outburst wasn’t sudden.

Although Pachulia couldn’t defend against Jokic, he constantly used small tricks to try to stop him. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

After Jokic’s emotions reached a breaking point, the Punch to Palm made him explode.

It’s just that Pachulia probably never expected the mild-mannered Jokic to react so fiercely.

Before the referees made their decision, he was already escorted to the locker room by the team doctor.

The referees ultimately gave Jokic a flagrant 1 foul.

The Warriors got two free throws and ball possession, but the good news for the Cavaliers was that Jokic wasn’t given a flagrant 2 and wasn’t ejected.

So the result was essentially Pachulia trading his injury for the Warriors’ two free throws and possession.

Compared to the reward from stepping under Leonard’s foot before, Pachulia must have regretted it.

Hansen also patted Jokic on the shoulder.

What Jokic did was impulsive; if he had been ejected, it could have cost the team the win tonight.

But now, the outcome is favorable because Jokic’s vengeful nature will make others think twice before targeting him again.

This was just a minor episode in the game, although the Warriors used the two free throws and possession to score 4 points, slightly closing the gap.

But without Green, the Cavaliers had a huge advantage inside, and the points they clawed back weren’t enough to reverse the tide.

Finally, the Cavaliers won 103-94 at home against the Warriors, securing the first home victory and leading 2-1 in the series.

"Jokic’s actions violated sportsmanship; the League should impose an additional suspension on him."

In the post-game press conference, James proactively mentioned Jokic.

While he was wary of Wade, he had no psychological burden regarding Jokic.

"The move was targeted at the person, and that should never be part of a basketball game."

Cole also expressed his anger as if Jokic’s move had altered the course of the game.

But it’s understandable why both James and Cole made these statements.

Because shifting the focus to Jokic could prevent the media from overly scrutinizing the conflict between him and Green during the game.

For the Warriors, defusing the tension between James and Green was the top priority. If the internal strife couldn’t be resolved, the Warriors would essentially concede after Game 3.

"I’ve said before, if they don’t want to play fair, we won’t either. I think Nikola’s reaction was him standing his ground; he was responding to Pachulia."

When the Cavaliers arrived at the press conference and reporters questioned Hansen about Jokic, Hansen invoked the United States’ "Stand Your Ground" law, commonly known as justifiable defense at East University.

"Nikola paid the price for his impulsiveness; the referees have already taught him a lesson. If they continue to suspend him, Pachulia should have been suspended before."

Malone then refuted the suspension arguments posed by reporters, especially since Pachulia’s previous undercut against Leonard was of worse nature, but the League hadn’t suspended him either.

The debate over whether Jokic should be suspended became a focal point at the press conference.

However, just like the TGA’s Game of the Year award being irrelevant to players’ choice, the focus of fans’ discussions on social media after the game wasn’t Jokic but the Cavaliers fans’ chant, "LeBron will trade you."

It was something more attention-grabbing for fans than Hansen’s head pat or Wade’s throat-slitting gesture.

After all, the nature of humans is to reiterate and gossip.

Fans even started discussing on social media who Green could be traded for.

Among the most liked comments was one from a Boston fan who believed that trading Horford for Green would be a win-win deal.

At first, this sounded odd since the underperformer against the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals was Towns, while Horford had commendable performances.

But the Celtics couldn’t trade Towns for Green. First, Towns was still on a rookie contract, making it impossible to match salaries.

Secondly, since Towns was still young, as a top draft pick, his future held limitless possibilities, and trading him for Green would be a significant loss.

Lastly, Green’s help defense and sweeping ability compared to Horford’s were much stronger, and his outside shooting was more consistent than Horford’s, making him the perfect pairing with Towns.

For the Warriors, trading Green could appease James, and Horford would be the best replacement for Green, with a much more amicable personality.

However, the second most popular comment from a Bay Area fan was intriguing as it asked: Why can’t we trade LeBron?

Given the Finals performance, Green’s importance exceeded James’, and with James having signed a 1+1 contract with the Warriors, such a deal could easily manipulate the management. In contrast, Green not only was a veteran but his contract had become cost-effective with the new broadcast deal.

The comments under this thread were also brilliant, with LeBron fans cursing the Warriors for ingratitude and LeBron critics offering suggestions for finding suitable trade targets for James.

The highlight of these comments was the thought that if LeBron could be traded for Anthony Davis from the Pelicans, it would mark the true endpoint for the League.

Just as fans were enthusiastically discussing, the Warriors officially announced that Pachulia was out for the season due to a shoulder dislocation.

Soon after, the League announced that Jokic’s flagrant 1 in Game 3 had been upgraded to a flagrant 2.

Previously, Jokic’s flagrant foul points were 2, which meant Jokic would automatically be suspended for one game.①

This season, Jokic’s Slavic bloodline seemed awakened, with a temper starkly contrasting his mild demeanor.

The Cavaliers protested this outcome but couldn’t change anything.

"Boss, I’m sorry." During practice on the rest day, Jokic approached Hansen, full of remorse.

He understood all too well what his absence meant to the Cavaliers.

"No need to apologize; you didn’t do anything wrong."

Hansen’s attitude was consistent with his earlier press conference, not denying Jokic’s actions.

Showing strength to the opponent is necessary to prevent them from seeing you as easy prey.

When Hansen was young, he eliminated Ginobili, which was one such example.

But then he patted Jokic on the shoulder and said:

"But you should also understand that ’too rigid can break.’

After all, they’re playing basketball, and such a method would hurt the enemy by a thousand and themselves by eight hundred, so Hansen proactively placed harsh words in front of the media.

Of course, just like Jokic, he was young, and facing the Celtics was a part of growing up.

①: Incurring a flagrant 1 foul in the season acculates 1 point, a flagrant 2 foul accumulates 2 points, and the points reset at the end of the season.