Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson was ejected from Thursday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers for arguing a non-call.
Tristan Thompson drove to the basket late in the third quarter and threw up a running banker against Obi Toppin. It appeared as though there was some contact, but no whistle was forthcoming as the shot went in.
As the Pacers inbounded the ball and headed down the other end, Atkinson started clapping in the direction of the official. He was irate over the lack of a foul call and kept jawing away to make his point. One technical was issued, with the second following quickly after.
Atkinson ultimately had to be guided away by his own staff to avoid further escalating matters.
The Pacers went on to win 114-112. The Cavs loss means they can’t catch the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the league.
Cleveland was extremely depleted for this game, playing without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland. Ty Jerome led the Cavs in scoring with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting including four triples.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 23 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocks.
HC Kenny Atkinson just got EJECTED from Pacers-Cavs after he wanted a foul called on this bucket 😳
He got hit with a double-technical pic.twitter.com/s800poJyBt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 11, 2025
Atkinson Coach Of The Year Favorite
The former Brooklyn Nets head coach is currently the favorite to win Coach of the Year. Taking over for JB Bickerstaff, overhauling the offense and leading this Cavs team to 63 wins with two games to play is a mighty impressive accomplishment.
Ironically, Bickerstaff is Atkinson’s biggest competition with the way he’s helped turn around the Detroit Pistons’ fortunes. Detroit is surprisingly the sixth seed in the East, guaranteed to be in the playoffs after winning just 14 games last season.
Thunder head coach Mark Diagneault and Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick are a distant third and fourth in odds to win the award.
Standings Watch
The Cavs (63-17) have already wrapped up the top seed in the conference. They will face one of the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, or Miami Heat in the first round.
Indiana (49-31), meanwhile, is suddenly within striking distance of the New York Knicks (50-30) for the third seed. It would be the difference between playing the Milwaukee Bucks or Pistons in the first round.
