Friday night, Wizards' point guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected within the first two minutes of the game against the Trail Blazers for shoving an official.
During a tie-up with Carmelo Anthony, Thomas put his hand on referee Marat Kogut, perhaps incidentally, and was subsequently ejected. After review, the call was upheld.
ESPN reports that crew chief Mark Ayotte explained the decision in a pool report saying, "He made physical contact with the referee. It was definitely just a push during the dead ball contact with the referee.''
"I mean I had a different view of it obviously," Wizards Coach Scott Brooks explained, according to ESPN. "They were in a scrum and they were fighting for the ball, a jump ball. I had a view that it looked like he lost his balance but [Kogut] had a better view and then they looked at it. They looked at it so you would hope they made the right call.''
The Wizards lost to the Trail Blazers 122-103
This ejection contributes to a shakey few weeks for Thomas. The point guard was suspended for 2 games after going into the stands to confront a fan on Dec. 21.
The Wizards' next game is against the Nuggets on Saturday.