Warriors reserve ejected for headbutting Rockets star in skirmish

Game 5 seemed destined to be a Warriors blowout loss through three quarters, but Golden State’s reserves made it a game again — and got in on the skirmish action with the Rockets starters, too, leading to an ejection.

The Dubs had been down by as many as 31, but their bench squad — Moses Moody, Pat Spencer, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kevin Knox and Braxton Key — surged back into the contest in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 13. The scorching run even got Rockets head coach Ime Udoka to bring his starters back into the game and set up the incendiary moment.

With 4:14 left, Dillon Brooks corralled a loose ball underneath the Golden State hoop, but was quickly swarmed by Moody and Spencer, with Moody called for a reach-in foul. As the whistle blew for the foul, Spencer gave Brooks a shove to the floor. The former lacrosse star then walked away.

Rockets star Alperen Sengun apparently took exception to Spencer’s shove, walking up to Spencer and bumping the Warriors reserve. Spencer responded by going forehead-to-forehead with the taller player, then making a headbutt motion at Sengun. Right after doing that, Jackson-Davis gave Sengun a forceful shove, inciting the two teams and their coaches to race in and separate the parties.

The Dubs starters, who had been sitting for more than a quarter at this point, clearly beamed at the incident from the bench and were celebrating their reserves for getting into the thick of it. After a review, the officials gave Sengun and Jackson-Davis offsetting technical fouls, and ejected Spencer for the headbutt — though hilariously, the official referred to him as Cam Spencer, Pat’s brother from the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Rockets started to pull away after the incident, and finished off Game 5 with a 131-116 win. But for the Warriors, the bench scoring a franchise-record 76 points, forcing Houston’s starters to return and even getting into a scrap with those starters can feel like a moral victory ahead of a closeout opportunity at home in Game 6 on Friday in San Francisco.