Blake Griffin defends Jamal Crawford after his first career ejection

Jamal Crawford comes across as very sweet and soft-spoken, so it’s no surprise that after he received his first career ejection in 15 seasons, his teammates came to his defense.

Crawford was ejected in the fourth quarter after exchanging words with referee Mark Lindsay in the Clippers’ 121-120 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns.

After the game, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers explained why he thought Crawford was thrown out.

“He said, ‘That’s an effing foul,’” Rivers said of Crawford. “I don’t know if you get thrown out for that.”

Rivers declined to elaborate further, opting instead to save his money.

Blake Griffin, who made the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime and scored a season-high 45 points, called Crawford’s ejection the “craziest” ejection he’s ever seen.

“I heard guys say worse things tonight and not even get a technical,” Griffin said.

After the game, Crawford did not speak to the media but Griffin said the reigning sixth man of the year apologized to his teammates for giving the referees the chance to eject him in such a close game.

“There’s no need to apologize for something like that,” Griffin said. “It happened and we’ve all been there. I did it tonight. He just happened to say it at the wrong time to the wrong person.”