“Didn’t foul LeBron James intentionally”: Chris Paul refutes Lakers head coach Frank Vogel’s accusations of him playing dirty in the Suns’ Game 1 win

After the Suns won yesterday, Chris Paul responded to Lakers head coach Frank Vogel calling his foul on LeBron James a ‘dirty play’. 

The matchup between the Chris Paul-led Suns and the LeBron James-led Lakers was a much-anticipated one. And when fans finally got to see it, the game did not disappoint.

Phoenix came into it as the underdog. However, they were the hungrier team by far and jumped out to an early lead. And as the game went on things only were starting to look worse for the Lakers. And then something happened that enraged just about everyone on LA’s side.

In the third quarter, after the King shot a free throw, both he and Paul went for the rebound. While they were mid-air, however, the Suns star wrapped James’s arm around his own, causing him to yank him by the shoulder as the two landed.

After the incident, the Lakers star went rolling on the ground, writhing in pain. But, he soon returned with everyone happy no one was hurt, Frank Vogel, however, was livid, saying that it was a “dirty play”, in an interview. And after hearing this CP3 chose to respond.

Also Read: Blazers veteran Carmelo Anthony reacts to getting booed by Nuggets fans in his Denver-return

Chris Paul denies any ill intentions during the incident between him and LeBron James

When James was on the floor and in pain, it seemed like everyone held their breath. It has already been an injury-plagued season for the 36-year-old. Yet another one during this crucial time would essentially tank the Lakers.

This realization by the NBA community caused a lot of hate to go towards Chris Paul during and after the incident. And of course, it didn’t help that the player didn’t go and check up on his close friend. So when allegations were made about the player looking to injure his opponent, this is what he had to say.

“I don’t know anything about that. I have absolutely nothing to say about that. We’re just playing basketball and competing… I’m just thankful we got the win, and I’m looking forward to Game 2.”

LeBron checking on Chris Paul after an apparent injury 🙏

Sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/6Ccqu6nr5T

— ESPN (@espn) May 23, 2021

Whether or not the play was indeed a dirty one is up to interpretation. That aside though, given the intensity of game-1, we will be looking forward to game-2 as well.

Also Read: Charles Barkley gets real on LeBron James and his Lakers’ playoffs chances after their Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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