What Happened Between Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nick Smith Jr.? Magic Star Frustrates Orlando After Early Ejection

The ongoing NBA season had mostly been ejection-free, with the ‘usual suspects’ not getting themselves into too much trouble. Even as it was anticipated that the situation would get worse the closer the playoffs were, there was one person who was expected to not engage in any ejection-worthy moves: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After all, the last time the player was kicked out was during the 2017-18 season, when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Fox Sports. Unfortunately, thanks to recent events, that streak has ended.

The ongoing matchup between the Charlotte Hornets and the Orlando Magic took a turn when KCP and Nick Smith Jr. were ejected! According to reports, the decision was taken after Caldwell-Pope received two quick, and back-to-back, technical fouls for arguing a call with officials as 2.3 seconds were left in the first half.

On top of that, the player continued to talk after the play. Meanwhile, Nick Smith Jr. was also forced out of the game after receiving his 2 technical foul. You should have heard the reaction from the announcer! Nowhere else will you hear this: “This is getting KOOKY!”.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nick Smith Jr. brought one of their respective technical fouls upon themselves by reportedly talking at one another. KCP received a second technical after the two had been separated, and he continued to talk towards Smith. Then, Smith began “barking” at a fan who was sitting courtside. Brandon Baker reported that Nick Smith Jr. even tossed the ball to the fan after the end of a quarter. All this led to the first ejection of the 20-year-old’s NBA career.

It made things worse for the Orlando Magic squad. The team had already gone into the matchup without a starter since Jalen Suggs had been declared ‘OUT’ due to a quadriceps issue. In light of the recent incident, Jett Howard started the 2nd half instead of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Meanwhile, Tidjane Salaun started the 2nd half for Nick Smith Jr..

Losing a key player isn’t something any franchise would prefer. However, if one asked Paolo Banchero, the team found a silver lining in the ejection call.

Paolo Banchero claimed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s ejection “set the tone” for Orlando Magic

NBA reporter Fawzan Amer covered the recent matchup between the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets. After the game, he reported that Paolo Banchero spoke to reporter Dante Marchitelli about the ejection call against his teammate. Banchero opted to take a positive route to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s exit.

“Him getting ejected set the tone for us. We had to come in the second half and play better, have his back. That’s what we did in that third quarter,” he shared.

The Orlando Magic squad did succeed in turning the tide in their favor. After allowing the Hornets to score 10 more points than them in the 2 quarter, the Magic took the lead and did not give it up during the 2nd half. Paolo Banchero himself accumulated 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 30 minutes. In the end, Orlando secured the win by a 102-86.

Both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nick Smith Jr. are yet to speak about their respective ejections. Fortunately, at least one of them will be glad about the recent win, and how the team didn’t give up in his absence, rather using it as fuel to push through.