Roy Hibbert took a knee to the groin by Shane Battier in Game 1 against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night and he believes the three-point specialist did it on purpose. Hibbert took the blow in the first quarter when Battier drove the lane for a lay-up.
Battier’s play was called for a charge, taking away the basket, and Hibbert immediately went down to the floor after taking the right-knee to the groin. The Pacers’ shot-blocker and force in the paint doesn’t think Battier’s groin shot was an accident in the slightest bit, but he still plans on protecting the basket as the series moves forward.
The Heat went on to beat the Pacers 103-102 after LeBron James hit a lay-up at the buzzer in overtime. The Pacers’ looked to have Game 1 in the bag when Paul George hit a 32-footer from behind the arc to tie the game at the end of regulation and then gained the lead with 2.2 seconds left after three free throws in overtime.
The win never came as the NBA’s MVP in LeBron James made the clutch lay-up to seal the dramatic victory. Roy Hibbert wasn’t on the court for the final play of the game, though it’s doubtful the knee from Battier has anything to do with it.
Pacers’ head coach Frank Vogel said after the game that he probably would’ve put Hibbert on the floor for the final play after looking back at it, but it’s too late now as the Heat took control with the Game 1 win.
On Thursday, the play between Hibbert and Battier became a hot topic of discussion on social media sites like Twitter, and the majort of responses said the play was “inadvertent.”
Roy Hibbert thinks otherwise, and he took to his own Twitter account to make it known how it felt about the controversial play.
U can knee or kick me every time u drive 2the rim. Ill be there 2protect the rim. That wasn’t inadvertent. Battier knew what he was doing
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) May 23, 2013
Here’s the video of the groin shot in case you missed it.
Do you believe Shane Battier purposely kneed Roy Hibbert in the groin during the first quarter of Game 1?
[Image via Mark Runyon | Basketball Schedule ]
