Jason Smith Tackles Blake Griffin: Hornets Player Ejected For Flagrant Foul (VIDEO)

New Orleans Hornets forward Jason Smith looked like he should wearing a New Orleans Saints jersey when he took out Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin in with a brutal flagrant foul in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's game.

Chris Paul had stolen the ball and started a fast break, passing it to Griffin past half court. As Griffin was about to take flight, Smith charged directly at him. Appearing to lower his shoulder, Smith drilled the high-flying All-Star to the hardwood. Smith's momentum carried him behind the basket as Griffin's teammates followed. Former Hornets' star Chris Paul led the charge after Smith, pointing his finger while shouting at him. Clippers DeAndre Jordan and Randy Foye also went over to say something to Smith as Griffin remained on the floor in pain.

Despite the anger of Griffin's teammates, Smith managed to walk away toward the Hornets' bench. As Griffin got up and made it back his team's bench, the Los Angeles broadcasters began making football comparisons.

"It's like a linebacker taking out a tight end who doesn't see it coming," said Clippers announcer Mike Smith. "There's just no place in the NBA for a play like that."

After watching the replay, the referees ruled the foul a Flagrant 2 and ejected Smith. In somewhat of a disturbing turn, Hornets fans gave Smith a standing ovation as he walked toward the locker room. Perhaps just as unsettling, Smith raised up his hands in triumph.

According to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com, Smith apologized to Griffin after the Hornets' 97-90 win saying, "I didn't want to give him an easy layup (but) there are a ton better ways to go about it."

"They should know better. Especially here in New Orleans where they're having all sorts of bounty problems with the football team," the Clippers announcer said regarding the fan reaction, citing the recent severe punishments handed down to the Saints by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for running a bounty program that was said to have targeted opponents with intent to injure.

Will David Stern take a page out of Goodell's book and discipline Smith further? Should he?

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Comments

[montanasian]

10:19 PM on 03/27/2012

Griffin gave back a "love tap" when in LA. It was great. I told you payback was going to be a byatch.

[AAHewetson]

04:36 PM on 03/26/2012

I don't follow basketball but that bump, undoubted foul though it was and hard as it was, hardly seems to justify the term 'tackle'.

[meanjoker]

10:23 PM on 03/25/2012

it was a love tap.

[ludichris212]

03:52 PM on 03/25/2012

Detroit. New York. Boston. New Orleans? When did the Big Easy decide to get so tough-minded in it's sports?

Oh, they want to win. You get tougher when you aren't winning, and perhaps a little meaner. Sure it was an ejection-worthy foul, and I don't want to see anybody get hurt, especially someone as young as Blake Griffin. But competition is integral to sport and sometime it gets the better of a person's nature.

Shake hands and be sportsmen, but be aware, people will foul you hard from time to time. Even in real life...

[klincklanc]

09:58 AM on 03/25/2012

All those crying about the foul are just wusses. It was a hard foul...nothing dirty about it. Merely the application of the "Jordan Rule," no easy lay ups and if you are in the paint you WILL get bodied.

[Killermolls44]

11:13 PM on 03/25/2012

Definitely technical foul worthy.

[Maddy-O]

11:23 PM on 03/24/2012

What an embarrassment...from Smith's pathetic, cheap shot, to the New Orleans fans cheering this tool, and then booing Griffin while taking his free throws. I am losing respect exponentially for all things concerning New Orlean's sports. All involved should be ashamed.

[FreedToChoose]

12:04 AM on 03/25/2012

Could it be that vocal fans are people whose only contact with achievement is being a fan?

[ManwithaParachute]

11:20 PM on 03/24/2012

NO Saints....NO Hornets.....

[Sthernbull]

10:25 AM on 03/27/2012

SCREW DAT!.... GEAUX SAINTS GEAUX HORNETS!!

[Trentonjordan]

11:08 PM on 03/24/2012

Anyone who watched the NBA in the late 80's and the early 90's remembers this kind of rough play. The Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks were notorious for this kind of play. I see nothing wrong with it and was disappointed that the suspension was 2 games. Griffin has no game but dunking and posterizing players. Plus he has a reputation of being soft, does not like physical contact and taken out of his game when players do get physical with him. This play was illegal....but not grievous.

[passingthought]

07:16 AM on 03/25/2012

AND AS YOU ALSO REMEMBER THE BAD BOYS AND KNICKS WERE IN A LOT OF FIGHTS! THERE ARE HARD FOULS THEN THERE TAKE OUT FOULS!

[klincklanc]

09:55 AM on 03/25/2012

This was not "take out foul," it was a hard foul, while Blake was still on the ground. Anybody that was around during the 80s and 90s remember and appreciate a more physical style of play.

[Andres64]

08:35 PM on 03/24/2012

Ok, come on. Yes is was intentional/flagrant. But Griffin's performance is Oscar worthy. Or he could start playing soccer.

[henrypapillon]

07:10 PM on 03/24/2012

Is there a bounty program going in basketball?

[Maddy-O]

11:29 PM on 03/24/2012

Maybe they're trying to pick up where the Saints left off?

[henrypapillon]

03:37 AM on 03/25/2012

If they indeed left off!

[mkblack88]

07:04 PM on 03/24/2012

I feel for the decent New Orleans sports fans who value good sportsmanship that some (many?) of their players have let them down so flagrantly, and that the public so clearly hears the cheers of those fans that obviously have no qualms supporting thug athletes. It's a shame, really.

[Just walkin the dog here]

04:14 PM on 03/24/2012

Total hacks need to be dealt with. We do not pay our hard-earned money to see the likes of Smith. Remove the griffins from the game, and you have a mediocre offering. Same as in other sports, a crappy hack can simply take out a quality, talented player. owners need to communicate to the refs that that is NOT what the league is about.

[dgoshilla]

10:40 AM on 03/24/2012

Word on the street is NBA players are fed up with Blake's posteurizing and until he takes it down he should expect more of this.

[ralle]

03:26 PM on 03/24/2012

I watched this game, they were holding each other and going at it all game. At one point after Smith was dunked on and fell to the floor, Griffin stood over him clapping. the clippers had a lot of dunks and postured after most of them, especially Martin who has never done a dunk that he hasn't posed afterward. I guess Smith had enough. Griffin had a lot of highlight dunks, but Jason had a good game scoring 17 pts. with Griffin holding him.

[passingthought]

07:25 AM on 03/25/2012

its called competition, and if dont like being postuered play defense!

[Gigity]

10:06 AM on 03/24/2012

Somewhere out there real basketball players are laughing. Lambeer and Mahorn would have done infinitely worse to Griffin if "Cadillac-ed" it down the lane.

This was a good foul, but his mistake was high-fiving fans after he laid someone out.

[LJohns1216]

08:07 AM on 03/24/2012

It looks like to me he was going to reach for the ball, took a bad angle, lower a bit to brace for impact with a huge man, and had a better center of gravity than Griffin.

AND Griffin played it up.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED. Smith was guilty of bad defense and a hard foul, but nothing more.