Max On Sports Final: Cavs Players Told Me They Were Going To Retaliate For Love Injury
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers completed their sweep of the Boston Celtics on Sunday, but Game 4 didn't come without some rough stuff on the court.
It all started midway through the first quarter when Kelly Olynyk and Kevin Love got wrapped up going for a loose ball. With their arms locked, Olynyk gave Love a little tug, and dislocated his arm in the process. Love is now expected to miss two weeks, and he wasn't very happy with Olynyk following the game, accusing him of injuring him on purpose.
Read: Olynyk Calls Love's Accusation 'Ridiculous'
Love's teammates weren't very pleased during the game, and told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Celtics analyst Cedric Maxwell they were going to get some payback.
"I talked to some of the Cavaliers players, and one of the things they mentioned to me, they said, 'Look, what happened with Kevin Love, we're going to retaliate,'" Maxwell said on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV. "That might have happened when [Kendrick Perkins] came in the game and had the hard foul, and it could have happened with [Jae] Crowder, because they banged him around pretty good. They might have been sending a message back."
The plays Max was alluding to both ended with Crowder on the floor. First, Perkins set a moving pick on the C's forward early in the third quarter, sending a forearm up at his face. When Crowder started to voice his displeasure, Perkins then sent an extra little slap (more commonly known as an NBA punch) towards Crowder.
Perkins was hit with a flagrant foul for the pick, and both players received technicals for the extra curricular stuff that followed.
A few minutes later, Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith took a swing at Crowder as the two got locked up under the basket. Crowder fell awkwardly after the play, and had to be helped off the floor.
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Smith was ejected and now faces a likely suspension from the league.
As for the play that started it all, Max can't see a player like Olynyk purposely hurting another player.
"Kelly Olynyk and Love, they got mashed up. You don't see Olynyk being a physical and violent player, so for him to pull his arm out of the socket, I really think it was something that just happened," he said. "It wasn't on purpose at all."
Watch the full clip above as Max shares his thoughts on the Celtics-Cavaliers series, and which players Boston can build around. Tune in to Sports Final every Sunday night on WBZ-TV at 11:35 pm!
