CLEVELAND — Cavaliers forward Marcus Morris Sr. was ejected from Monday night’s win over the Hornets after he threw a high elbow that flattened Charlotte center Nick Richards.
With the Cavaliers off to a slow start, Morris delivered a blow to Richards’ jaw midway through the second quarter, earning him a Flagrant-2 foul. Morris, who has earned a tough-guy reputation during 12 seasons in the NBA, said while he wasn’t trying to hurt Richards, he was trying to set a tone.
“I just wanted to be physical,” Morris said. “Like I told the player (Richards), I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I’m just trying to set the tone, man. You’re rolling down the paint, catching lobs and we’re trying to stop that type of (stuff).”
The ejection ended up sparking a Cavaliers run as they ended the half with a 14-point lead.
The blowout win came 24 hours after an embarrassing 37-point loss to the Heat in Miami.
Morris, who signed a 10-day contract with the Cavs on March 18, said he was sending a message to his new teammates and the rest of the league.
“There’s been a lot of grueling games and I was just wanted to toughen us up,” Morris said. “Step in front of it like, listen this is what’s going to be expected moving forward, not just for today. Set the precedent going into the playoffs. We’re not about to have anybody coming in here and doing what they want to do.
“I wanted to play the game, I didn’t want to get thrown out, but I definitely wanted to put a little lick on him. I was happy the way we responded.”
Morris could hear from the league for his Flagrant-2 foul, but felt the Cavs needed it.
“I never really want to get ejected from a game,” he said. “I still want to help my team, but I’m just happy we responded really well. Going forward, man, like I told the team, each of these games got to be treated like the playoffs.
“So if I got to lay somebody out every game, and we’re going to respond like that, then so be it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
