Zaza Pachulia Won't Face Sanctions For Alleged Intentional Fall on Russell Westbrook's Legs
Golden State Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia will not face any disciplinary action from the National Basketball Association despite allegations that he deliberately fell on Russell Westbrook's legs in a previous game.
The NBA confirmed that after reviewing replays of the collision, they found no evidence that Pachulia's fall right on Westbrook's legs was intentional.
As a result, the 6-foot-11 center was able to join his team in their game against the New York Knicks and would not serve any suspensions in their upcoming matches. Pachulia played 15 minutes and contributed 7 points in the Warriors' 125-111 win against the Knicks on Monday.
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Meanwhile, when Pachulia was asked about Westbrook's claims, he said: "No comment. That's childish. Come on. I'm not responding to that."
NBA fans will recall several previous incidents where Pachulia was accused of intentionally hurting players from opposing teams through unnecessary physical contact.
The most recent before Westbrook's claims was the collision that ended Kawhi Leonard's 2016-17 season just when the San Antonio Spurs were making a run for the Western conference finals. Veteran coach Gregg Popovich maintained that Pachulia had a "history" of "unsportsmanlike" actions. However, the player did not face any sanctions at the time as well.
Pachulia's recent contact with Westbrook and the NBA's response to it have started online debates on whether the Warriors center played dirty on court, and even current and former NBA players have weighed in.
Westbrook's teammate Paul George and Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving have both protested Pachulia's play. Former NBA player Stephen Jackson noted that the said player was lucky he was not in the league during his time or "he would have gotten knocked out four or five times for the stuff he's done."
Fox Sports anchor and commentator Nick Wright also said: "A hard foul when the guy's trying to dunk on you is one thing. But waiting for a guy to be in his most vulnerable position and flopping on top of him is totally different. ... Zaza Pachulia has a history of going after MVP candidates at their most vulnerable."
On the other hand, Kevin Durant defended his teammate and explained that Pachulia had just gotten caught on Nick Young's foot which caused the Warriors center to fall on Westbrook.
