What Happened Between Jaxson Hayes and Kris Dunn? Punches Lead to Ejection in Lakers-Clippers
Tonight’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers took an unexpected turn when the Clippers became the focus of a sudden incident that drew roars from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena. Known for his hard-nosed defense, guard Kris Dunn found himself at the center of controversy after a heated exchange that ultimately resulted in his ejection following an official review.
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The replay made everything clearer. During a drive by Ivica Zubac, Dunn went straight at Luka Doncic, pushing him over while trying to grab the rebound. Doncic was met with a loose ball that sent him crashing to the floor. As the whistle blew, Dunn escalated the moment by shoving the ball at Doncic, creating immediate tension on the court.
Emotions ran high. When LA center Jaxson Hayes approached to stand up for his teammate, Dunn threw a punch, forcing teammates and officials to intervene. The referees convened, reviewed the sequence, and quickly delivered their decision: Dunn was ejected from the game, leaving both teams on edge as play resumed. Both Dunn and Hayes were given technical fouls, but since Dunn received two – one for shoving Doncic, one for punching Hayes – he was removed.
The sequence occurred at 3:33 in the fourth quarter, and until then, Dunn had been doing well. He recorded 19 points with 3 threes, on 8-13 shooting, along with three assists and a steal, and was solid on defense.
This isn’t the first time that Dunn and Doncic have gone back and forth. Back in 2023, when Doncic was with the Mavericks and Dunn was with the Jazz, one exchange between them was leaked. Dunn had flown by Doncic at the rim, attempting to contest him, after which, the two got into an argument, leading to Dunn getting into Doncic’s face, for which both were assessed technical fouls. Doncic also told refs, “He’s just mad I’m busting his a–, bro… I’m giving him buckets.” He then denied the official when he asked the two to shake hands.
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