CLEVELAND — Perhaps Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson misinterpreted a message from coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Bickerstaff, formerly of the Cavaliers, said after the Pistons lost Game 5 on Wednesday, May 13, at home to fall behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.
Two days after Bickerstaff uttered those words, Thompson used his left hand to grab Cavs shooting guard Sam Merrill by the neck and steamroll him with 8:04 left in the second quarter.
The Pistons proceeded to pummel the Cavs en route to a 115-94 win in Game 6 at Rocket Arena, tying the second-round playoff series 3-3. A winner-take-all Game 7 is set for 8 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Study the replay shown on the Amazon Prime telecast, and you’ll probably find it stunning Thompson could remain in the game after grabbing Merrill’s neck. Merrill was on offense and attempting to set a screen when Thompson threw him to the floor and stepped over him on the way to Detroit’s bench.
But after a replay review, Thompson received a Flagrant 1 foul, not a Flagrant 2 foul, which triggers an ejection.
The Cleveland crowd went wild with rage when it saw what Thompson had done on the arena’s video boards. Fans chanted “throw him out” as the officials watched the play with the Pistons ahead 41-29.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know he had done that,” Merrill told the Beacon Journal. “I just felt like he pushed me. I was a little almost surprised that they were reviewing it. I just felt like he just gave me an extra shove, which is whatever. But, I mean, it’s obviously probably the right call.”
Even though Merrill did not realize what had occurred in real time, did he see a replay?
“I did see it. Yeah, and he definitely [grabbed my neck]. I just didn’t feel that,” Merrill replied.
Merrill also said he didn’t think an ejection was warranted.
“No, I think they’re looking for excessive. I didn’t really feel like that was excessive,” Merrill said.
Join the club if you’re surprised by Merrill’s answer about whether Thompson should have been ejected. Merrill let Thompson off the hook. From a big-picture outlook, the Cavs let the Pistons off the hook, too.
Here’s how crew chief Zach Zarba explained the decision to give Thompson a Flagrant 1 instead of a Flagrant 2 during an interview with a pool reporter:
“The criteria for a Flagrant Foul 2 would be windup, impact and follow-through. On this particular play there was impact and follow-through, but there was no windup. It was unnecessary contact but also not excessive, so that’s why it wasn’t upgraded to a Flagrant 2,” Zarba said.
Did the officials see contact to Merrill’s head or neck?
“Yes. There was open-hand contact by Thompson to the neck of Merrill. We did see that on the video,” Zarba said.
Just a quick biology lesson here: A human must open his or her hand to grab something with his or her hand.
“No comment,” Thompson said when he was asked what kind of explanation he received about the flagrant foul.
Any way you slice it, the play proved to be emblematic of the Pistons’ nasty edge in Game 6.
“They won the force battle tonight,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We won it last game. They won it tonight. That’s how this goes. They were more forceful, more forceful in their drives, rebounds. They just had the advantage in being the more aggressive team. It’s just very, very clear.”
Although the Cavs outscored the Pistons 22-13 for the remainder of the first half after Thompson’s flagrant foul and trailed 54-51 at halftime, Detroit dominated the third quarter 30-19 and never looked back.
“They came and threw the first punch,” Cavs center Jarrett Allen said. “They came in and were the aggressors.”
Thompson eventually fouled out with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter, yet, minutes later, many Cleveland fans flocked to the exits amid a thrashing.
When people were still in the stands, they booed Thompson every time he touched the ball after he flattened Merrill.
“I did enjoy it,” Thompson said. “That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me. It was pretty fun.”
This is how a Cleveland sports villain is born.
One of the NBA’s most elite defenders, Thompson finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field (0-of-1 on 3-pointers), nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot in 24 minutes.
Merrill scored 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field (2-of-5 on 3s), one rebound and one assist in 20 minutes.
Merrill said he was physically OK after Game 6. He has pushed through hand/finger and hamstring injuries this postseason. Then Thompson practically pushed through him. Again, the play served as a microcosm.
The Cavs were outscored 48-26 in points in the paint, 20-13 in second-chance points and 25-17 in points off turnovers.
The Pistons shot 52.4% from the field (44.4% on 3-pointers). The Cavs shot 38.5% from the field (34.3% on 3s).
“They played great,” Merrill said. “It’s been an extremely physical series. That’s how it is with these guys. I feel like we’ve, for the most part, matched that and even exceeded that in a few of these games. And they, obviously, brought that to another level tonight, and they played great. They hit shots, they defended at a high, high level and we didn’t play great.”
The Cavs failing to close out the Pistons in Cleveland meets every definition of a blown opportunity.
“Sure, but, I mean, at the end of the day, we can’t sit here and hang our heads,” Merrill said. “It’s right onto the next one. It’s not supposed to be easy, and we haven’t made it easy on ourselves all year. We know that’s a place we can go and win, so let’s go do it.”
The Cavs won Game 5 in Detroit to capture their first road victory of the 2026 playoffs. Then they squandered their 3-2 series lead in Game 6. Only prevailing in a do-or-die Game 7 would provide redemption.
In the meantime, maybe Atkinson should deliver a “you’re going to have to choke the life out of this team” message to his guys.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sam Merrill lets Ausar Thompson off hook. Cavaliers did same. Opinion
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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