Amir Johnson was ejected with 5:01 left in the third quarter as the Raptors took on the Trail Blazers.
He had words with referee David Jones while trying to take the ball from him following a Portland free throw. After Johnson was ejected, he threw his mouthpiece at Jones, and fellow players had to restrain him before he was escorted from the floor.
Johnson did have an explanation as to what happened, but it won’t matter – a fine or suspension is def. coming. Check out what he had to say and the video after the jump…
Johnson said that before free throws, he has a habit of rubbing the ball and then passing it to the ref.
“I guess the ref didn’t let me have the ball so we kind of got into a tug of war,” he said. “No words were really said and he rejected me out of the game and I kind of lost my cool from there.”
“My teammates know me, my parents know me. … I never lose my cool. I never said anything to a ref or got mad,” he said. “The only techs I’ve gotten were for hanging on the rim or slapping the backboard.”
“I think it was just really childish. It was something that didn’t need to happen,” Johnson said. “I lost my cool and I apologize on my part.”
