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Sabonis Spins Out of Controll.

by Paul Buker | The Oregonian | Feb 2, 1998

The 7-foot-3 Blazer whirls into a fury of transcontinental proportions over the officiating and is ejected with 9:25 left in the game.

In his wild youth, when a half-dozen beers and a few shots of Russian vodka constituted his post-game meal, Arvydas Sabonis was known in Europe as a hothead with the referees. Once, in a European final, he pulled his entire team off the floor and threatened to forfeit, so incensed was he with the officiating.

In 2 1/2 NBA seasons for the Trail Blazers, Sabonis has been a model citizen comparison. Oh, he threw a mouthpiece into the basket support in the playoffs once.

But that was nothing.

What happened Sunday night against Toronto was a genuine explosion, like the old days.

"A temper tantrum," teammate Gary Trent said. "Like a kid who . . . I mean, when he almost fell, I thought, `Oh no!' It's funny now. We can laugh about it now, because we won."

The Blazers did win, 97-90, and the fact Sabonis was ejected for the first time in his NBA career turned into a footnote -- and a priceless bit of video for ESPN, TNT, and every network in Lithuania.

Sabonis' first technical foul, courtesy of Steve Javie, came with 9:01 left in the third Javie gave the technical after the 7-foot-3 center angrily tossed his mouthpiece into the third row.

No one was injured.

A ballboy was given the thankless job of retrieving the mouth missile and returning it to the Portland bench in a soggy paper cup. Sabonis reloaded, and the game dragged along.

It was clear Sabonis was mystified at the work of Javie, Woody Mayfield and Ted Bernhardt. If the Blazers' big man wasn't wearing Toronto's Marcus Camby like an Armani suit, he had doughboy Oliver Miller hacking and grabbing him.

"The whole game," Sabonis said. "What do they do that for? Where are the calls?"

The meltdown came with 9:25 left in the game, when Sabonis -- grabbed around the shoulders by Camby in the key -- got an offensive foul called on him.

"He lost it," said Blazers point guard Kenny Anderson.

First, Sabonis fired his mouthpiece into the floor. Then he flailed with both arms and almost lost his balance as he spun around. Then he took off both wristbands and threw them down.

Then he kicked a towel into the air on his way out the tunnel, because by then, Javie had rung him up for his second technical.

"I thought all his clothes were going to come off," Anderson joked. "I haven't ever seen anything like that. I'm thinking, `Aw, don't take your shirt off!' "

Told he might be on SportsCenter, Sabonis said, "It's OK, my dancing, yes?"

Then he let out a hearty laugh.

Sabonis' teammates didn't have a chance to pile on, because he left early out the side door of the Rose Garden, sans mouthpiece and $1,000 for his two technicals.

"I don't know what it is the refs don't see out there," Trent said. "Sabas doesn't get any type of calls.

"Some of the stuff he goes through is ridiculous, but that's the NBA night in and night out. I guess the refs figure the bigger you are, the more you can take."

Sabonis finally had enough in this game.

A few more feet of hardwood, and there's no telling what he might have taken off and thrown into the air.