Close call: Did De’Aaron Fox foul reaction almost get him ejected from Game 5?

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox appeared to come dangerously to being ejected Wednesday from Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors after expressing frustration toward the refs late in the third quarter.

Going for a loose ball with less than 2 seconds left in the quarter, Fox got tied up with Warriors forward Draymond Green near the half-court line. As the two fought for the ball, Fox was called for a foul.

A disgusted Fox swiped his arm through the air at the call, and referee Tony Brothers appeared ready to call a technical foul, briefly flinching toward his whistle before ultimately not picking up.

Because Fox already picked up a technical earlier in the game, after disagreeing with a ref’s no-call, a second technical would have resulted in Fox’s automatic ejection.

Teammate Trey Lyles quickly came to Fox’s side, holding him back and calming him down. Fox stayed in the game, while Green made one of two free throws to put the Warriors up 99-90 going into the fourth quarter.

Commentators for the national TV broadcast on TNT opined that Brothers may have called the technical foul if Fox didn’t already have one, spurring some discussion about consistency in officiating.

“Tony reached for the whistle,” color analyst Stan Van Gundy said. “That is almost always a technical in this league now, but Tony Brothers, he did not want to eject De’Aaron Fox for this game. That’s why he did it.”

Van Gundy added later, in the fourth quarter: “I have no problem with the referees understanding the emotion, not being quick to a technical, but look, we’ve got to have some consistency across the league on what constitutes a technical foul and what doesn’t.”

He argued that Fox’s actions and a similar outburst by Green in the fourth quarter would be considered “blatant” technical fouls during the regular season.

Fans argued on social media about whether Fox should have gotten the second technical foul.