Pool Reporter Transcript

Crew Chief Rodney Mott

Postgame – Oklahoma City at Portland – November 5, 2017

NBA Crew Chief Rodney Mott met with pool reporter Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com after the game between the Thunder and Trail Blazers in Portland tonight. Here is the transcript of that interview:

Q: Why was the third-quarter foul on Carmelo Anthony on Jusuf Nurkic called a Flagrant 2 and not a Flagrant 1 or common foul?

NBA Crew Chief Rodney Mott:
We deemed that the contact was excessive and that it was not a natural basketball move where he seeks out Nurkic, hits him in the face with an elbow and goes back to the basket. So because it’s unnatural and it’s deemed excessive, therefore it is a flagrant foul penalty two.