Just before halftime of Tuesday night's matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Kings swingman John Salmons passed the ball to point guard Isaiah Thomas on the left wing. With both the shot and game clock winding down, Thomas drove around a rotating Tayshaun Prince and made his way to the lane. He arrived too late, with the 24-second buzzer going off before he could let loose a potential buzzer-beating floater. Thomas was, however, just in time to get clobbered in the air by Detroit defender Charlie Villanueva, whose attempted contest of the forthcoming shot resulted in his right forearm hitting Thomas on the left arm and his hand coming through to catch Thomas in the face as he fell. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore, as you might expect, did not take too kindly to the contact from the 6-foot-11, 240-pound UConn product and noted boxing enthusiast : After Kings center DeMarcus Cousins stepped in the middle to keep the peace — no, seriously — the officials separated the players, Sacramento coach Keith Smart shepherded his point guard away, Villanueva returned to the Pistons bench and everyone awaited the refs' ruling on the play. The result: a flagrant foul 2 for contact determined "unnecessary and excessive," triggering Villanueva's automatic ejection and a forthcoming fine of no less than $1,000 from the league office. The eighth-year veteran had nine points, one rebound, one steal, one block and one assist in 11 minutes of play before getting the gate.
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