The Atlanta Hawks getting blown out by the Philadelphia 76ers clearly didn’t sit well with Kris Dunn, who got a silly technical over a high five.
There are a lot of reasons to get mad on a basketball court. A high five isn’t one of them.
Kris Dunn of the Atlanta Hawks didn’t get that memo, and it cost him and his team a technical foul.
After Shake Milton dished an alley-oop to Matisse Thybulle, who incredibly found a way to score it, the 76ers teammates came together intending a high five. Dunn was in the way and took offense.
The officials issued a technical to Dunn for starting a pointless dispute on the court.
Kris Dunn’s reaction to a high five was just silly
Dunn let his frustration get the better of him. The Hawks’ deficit swelled to 30 on the basket, so it’s understandable to be unhappy with the state of the game. It was hardly the kind of thing worth getting angry over.
It was two bench players congratulating each other on an objectively good play. Players give each other high fives for free throws. A muted fastbreak celebration didn’t cross the line.
Dunn is just coming back from a year-long layoff because of a knee injury. Wednesday was only his second game back. He scored five points in 15 minutes but went 1-of-6 from the field while picking up five fouls.
He’ll have to do a better job of controlling his emotions if he wants to maintain a role with the Hawks.
The fact that Tre Young got a technical foul from the bench only raises questions of the Hawks’ current mentality.
Atlanta holds the fifth seed in the East while the 76ers clinched a playoff spot with their victory. Philadelphia is one game out of first place behind the Nets.