Early in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s Game 1 win over the Pacers, Ian Mahinmi grabbed LeBron James by the arm as he went up for the shot, causing James to fall a bit awkwardly as he crashed to the floor.
It was ruled as a common foul at the time, but has since been upgraded to a flagrant one, reports Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.The Ian Mahinmi foul was a grab of LeBron James’ arm that the Sun Sentinel has learned has been upgraded by NBA to a Flagrant 1.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 24, 2013
It was a very similar play to the one Manu Ginobili was called for in the Spurs’ Game 2 win over the Grizzlies. In each instance, a player had elevated for a shot, and the defender grabbed and held the off arm to prevent the easy two points.
James may have slightly exaggerated the contact with the extra roll once he hit the deck, but it wasn’t nearly to the embarrassing level that Tony Allen took it to in trying to convince the referees that the foul he received was far more serious than it actually was.
