Kelly Oubre: Hits by Kelly Olynyk ended with retaliation
— -- WASHINGTON --? Wizards forward Kelly Oubre says "reoccurring events" of being hit in the head caused the outburst that got him ejected from Thursday's Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics.
After being floored by an illegal screen from Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk early in the second quarter, Oubre charged at Olynyk and knocked him to the ground by burying his forearm in his chest. Oubre was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected.
"I've been hit in the head multiple times by the same person," Oubre told reporters after practice Friday. "I've confronted [Olynyk] about it. The last time it happened, I fell, I felt pain in my head and my jaw, and I got up and I ran to him and I bumped him."
Oubre said he had not heard from the league about a possible suspension or fine and pledged to move forward while controlling his emotions better.
The Celtics took Friday off, and players had the option of doing some light shooting. During a conference call, Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked if his players had moved on from the dustup.
"Which episode are you talking about?" Stevens asked.
Told the Oubre-Olynyk fight, Stevens said, "I guess the bottom line is everybody has gotten past them all. I'm not sure that was a fight, per se. ... When Oubre took umbrage to the screen and then ran at Kelly and, from there, to be honest, in that moment I thought both sides' cooler heads prevailed. Because that probably could have been worse than it was.
"But the league makes the calls on what happens next and what happens during the game with all those things. But that had very little to do with the result of the game. I thought it was more that Washington just outplayed us on both ends of the court."
The Celtics and Wizards racked up a combined 16 technical fouls during their four regular-season matchups. Thursday's game featured eight technical fouls and three ejections.
Oubre joked Friday that he emerged from the shower in the second half and was surprised to see teammate Brandon Jennings in the locker room. Jennings and Celtics guard Terry Rozier were ejected after being hit with double technicals.
Stevens wants his players to be physical in this series, but he said they can't lose their cool when tempers invariably flare.
"We have to focus on playing good basketball. Part of playing good basketball is being appropriately physical and being able to own your space and hold your ground and those type of things," Stevens said. "And Washington did that better than us [Thursday] night. No question about that. But we have to focus on playing good basketball."
Stevens said he hoped his players would take advantage of the rare playoff downtime on the road.
"I hope some of them go and walk around D.C. and enjoy being here and just take a deep breath," Stevens said. "Because I think it's important to clear your mind and get ready for preparation [on Saturday]."
