D’Angelo Russell Flagrant Foul on Jamal Murray Sparks Furious Debate

D’Angelo Russell’s flagrant foul during the first quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday ignited furious debates all over NBA Twitter on Thursday as fans and pundits weighed in on the call.

The Lakers guard received the call after dishing out a hard foul on Nuggets star Jamal Murray as he drove to the basket in transition. As Murray rose to the rim, Russell’s left arm swiped down in an apparent attempt to hit the ball but, instead, appeared to made contact with Murray’s face and upper body.

The quick sequence led to an extended conversation between the officiating crew, resulting in a flagrant 1 foul for Russell and two free throws for Denver. At the time of the foul, the Lakers led the Nuggets, 23-20, with 2:59 to play in the quarter; Denver shrunk the deficit to one with the two made technical free throws.

D-Lo with the hard foul on Jamal Murray in transition.

He received a Flagrant 1 on the play. pic.twitter.com/InOAj9uPfI
— ESPN (@espn) May 19, 2023

Russell’s flagrant foul on Murray led to a wave of reactions online, with some wondering if the hard foul was called incorrectly while others backed the decision made by the referees.

Needless to say, NBA Twitter had a lot to say about the play:

Soft
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) May 19, 2023

Didn’t Russell make contact with Murray’s face?
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) May 19, 2023

Wow. 👀Flagrant 1 ? That’s crazy. Mark Jackson said it best. There’s always a wind up if you’re trying to stop somebody.
He played after all.
I don’t have a dog in the fight but that’s wild.
Not tryna sound like the old dude in the room either.
— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) May 19, 2023

Fans are calling for a flagrant on Russell for contesting Murray's layup, it's getting reviewed but it didn't look like anything
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) May 19, 2023