James Harden's blow to the face of Jonas Jerebko may have been inadvertent, but the resulting bloody mess sure didn't look that way.
The two got tangled up under the basket during the fourth period of the Celtics-Rockets matchup Thursday night when Harden's flailing arm seemed to have a mind of its own in catching Jerebko square in the nose.
The shot sent Jerebko straight to the ground and when he got up, his face was covered in blood. And not knowing the full extent of what happened, Jerebko apparently thought Harden struck him on purpose and had to be held back from going after Harden by teammates. Jerebko then left the game, while Harden was hit with a flagrant foul.
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Afterward, though, Jerebko acknowledged to reporters that the contact was purely incidental.
The Celtics went on to win the game 120-109.
