Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson was ejected from Friday night's game in Memphis for slapping Grizzlies small forward Jae Crowder in the behind.
It happened in the third quarter as Thompson was on the free throw line shooting foul shots with the Grizzlies leading 85-72. After Thompson made the first one, the Grizzlies decided to sub in Grayson Allen for Crowder. As Allen and Crowder crossed in front of Thompson and gave each other a low-five, Thompson gave Crowder a hard slap on his butt.
Crowder stopped in his tracks and stared at Thompson in disbelief, while referee J.T. Orr, who was behind the play and saw the whole thing, play gave Thompson a technical foul. It was Thompson's second technical for the game, resulting in his ejection.
Since Crowder was tossed before he could take his second free throw, the Grizzlies got to pick which Cavs player would take the second foul shot. They chose John Henson, who made the second foul shot.
It should be noted that Crowder played for the Cavaliers during the 2017-18 season, so as a former teammate, the slap by Thompson may not have been intended to be malicious. Still, as Odell Beckham Jr. is also learning the hard way, slapping someone on the behind can get you into trouble.
In Thompson's absense, the Cavs put together a fourth quarter rally, but fell a bit short as the Grizzlies came away with the 113-109 victory.
[Video via Bleacher Report. H/T FTW]