Spurs fan covertly 'flips off' Zaza Pachulia in photo
When Zaza Pachulia slid his foot (intentionally, or not) under Kawhi Leonard’s foot during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs’ title hopes essentially ended.
Arthur Cervantes, along with the rest of the San Antonio faithful, still has not forgiven the Warriors’ big man.
At a San Jose Earthquakes soccer game at Avaya Stadium on Monday, Cervantes posed with Pachulia while surreptitiously flashing a crude sign in the direction of the Georgian native.
Cervantes, a lifelong Spurs fan and San Jose native, told mySA.com that Pachulia was unaware of what was going on.
“He didn’t notice or else I’m sure he would have been upset,” Cervantes said.
“Most found it pretty funny,” he went on to say. “Only my sister, who is a die hard Warriors fan, did not approve of my picture.”
Pachulia came under increased scrutiny when Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich essentially accused the 33-year-old of being a dirty player.
“Ask David West, his current teammate, how things went when Zaza was playing for Dallas, and he and David got into it,” Popovich said on the heels of the incident. “And then think about the history [Zaza has] had, and what that means to a team … what happened last night. A totally unnatural closeout that the league has outlawed, years ago, and pays great attention to.”
In spite of Pop’s harsh words, Pachulia insisted that it was not an intentional act.
“I really feel bad for the guy,” Pachulia said before Game 2. “I wish it didn’t happen. Had a different result, basically. But again, this is a game. There are some things nobody can control, right? I have a lot of respect for Kawhi. He’s one of the best players in this league and wish him all the best to get healthy back, and meanwhile we’re going to move on. This is the game of basketball, a lot of crazy stuff happens on the court, unfortunately. It happened to me as well.”
In the absence of Leonard, who did not play again in the series due to the ankle injury, the Spurs were swept in four games by the eventual NBA champions.
Pachulia recently re-signed with the Warriors on a one-year, $3.5 million deal, so it will be interesting to see if their is any on court response by the Spurs next year.
