It took just seven NBA games for Ky Bowman’s first dust-up. It’s not a huge surprise that the agitator was Hassan Whiteside.
Whiteside took issue with Bowman bumping into him after a layup in the fourth quarter. Though it appeared incidental, Whiteside escalated matters with a chicken wing elbow to Bowman’s throat. This led to Bowman to go chest to chest with Whiteside, and for all for his Warriors teammates to flock to his defense.
Ky Bowman ain’t taking that chicken wing from Hassan Whiteside without words pic.twitter.com/9ETLPqri1G
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 5, 2019
Whiteside was issued a technical for his part in the skirmish. Here’s how Bowman saw the incident.
“I laid it up, and I was trying to get in front of the ball cause I’m picking up 94 (feet),” Bowman said postgame. “So I just stand in front of the ball until they take it out — I was going to make sure Damian (Lillard) didn’t get it.
“(Whiteside) bumped me, and I wasn’t even paying attention to the first bump. Then he bumped me again. That’s when it’s time to like…I know I’m a rook but I don’t get pushed around, that’s just me. Then the team just got energy off of it.”
The incident came during the best game of Bowman’s young career. The point guard dropped 19 points and dished eight assists in the first ever victory at Chase Center.
Bowman said he appreciated his new teammates coming to his aide.
“It means a lot. We lost some games down the stretch, so just knowing that we got each other’s backs that’s big for us.”
