{"id":277124,"date":"2025-05-23T07:52:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T07:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/23\/jaden-mcdaniels-jaden-mcdaniels-explains-why-he-was-compelled-to-take-flagrant-foul-on-shai-gilgeous-alexander-wasnt-even-mad\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:08:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:08:20","slug":"jaden-mcdaniels-jaden-mcdaniels-explains-why-he-was-compelled-to-take-flagrant-foul-on-shai-gilgeous-alexander-wasnt-even-mad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/23\/jaden-mcdaniels-jaden-mcdaniels-explains-why-he-was-compelled-to-take-flagrant-foul-on-shai-gilgeous-alexander-wasnt-even-mad\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaden McDaniels: Jaden McDaniels explains why he was compelled to take flagrant foul on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: &#8220;Wasn&#8217;t even mad&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"4928087\" data-slug-id=\"2529582\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/jaden-mcdaniels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Jaden McDaniels<\/a> is at the center of attention owing to his actions in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, stirring controversy. McDaniels enraged the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/oklahoma-city-thunder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">OKC Thunder<\/a> fanbase by maliciously shoving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Thursday, sending the star guard to the ground.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>The incident occurred mid-way into the final period and was an easy decision for officials to assess it as a flagrant foul. Amid the backlash, Jaden McDaniels claimed that his move wasn\u2019t out of frustration but rather a strategic use of his remaining fouls.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"bets-today-poll\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"preview-card-holder bets-today-poll\">\n<p><span class=\"date\"\/> \u2022 <span class=\"time\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"march-madness-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/march-madness-logo.png\" height=\"42\" width=\"99\" alt=\"march madness logo\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;I just wanted to foul him for real. I wasn&#8217;t even mad I just had fouls to use,&#8221;<\/em> McDaniels said during the postgame press conference.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That said, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who ultimately had the last laugh. The newly crowned MVP delivered a dominant performance, putting up 38 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. His outing propelled the Thunder to a commanding 118-103 win, giving Oklahoma City a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Jaden McDaniels expresses confidence in Timberwolves despite trailing 2-0 <\/h2>\n<p>While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and co. have the upper hand, the battle between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/minnesota-timberwolves\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> and the OKC Thunder is far from over. Despite trailing 2-0, Jaden McDaniels remains optimistic about the Wolves\u2019 chances, confident that a turnaround is possible if the team adopts a more assertive style of play.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;I&#8217;ll say it&#8217;s just poor shooting nights. They&#8217;re kinda short closing a little bit, so we just gotta not think twice, and let it fly really. Be confident in what we can do,&#8221; Jaden <\/em>McDaniels said after Game 2\u2019s loss (timestamp 0:35 onwards). <em>&#8220;We gotta be desperate like every possession matters. Like every game, everything matters&#8230; Just gotta play smarter than what we are.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\">                    <noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=watch\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=watch<\/a><\/noscript>                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\" data-embed=\"null\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"false\" data-img-low=\"false\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Minnesota&#8217;s offensive struggles have been evident through the first two games of the WCF. The team is shooting just 38.2% from the field\u2014well below their 45.1% field goal percentage average from the 2025 playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, several key players have seen a dip in performance. Starters like Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Mike Conley have all put up lower numbers in this series compared to their production in the previous two rounds, playing a vital role in the Wolves&#8217; early deficit.<\/p>\n<p>Game 3 on Saturday is a crucial clash moment for Minnesota, a must-win battle. A potential loss will result in Anthony Edwards and co. going 3-0 down in the series, virtually ending their chances to contend for the championship.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-author-info-parent\">\n<span class=\"about-the-author\">About the author<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-pic-holder\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"author-pic\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,&lt;svg width=\" height=\"100\"\/><rect width=\"100\" height=\"100\" style=\"fill:rgb(128, 128, 128);\"\/>&#8221; data-lazy=&#8221;https:\/\/keedag.sportskeeda.com\/user-pic\/4977288-1738121275-200.jpg?w=200&#8243;<br \/>\nalt=&#8221;Advait Jajodia&#8221; height=&#8221;72&#8243; width=&#8221;72&#8243;&gt;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-bio-detail-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p class=\"author-bio\" id=\"author-bio-text\">\nAdvait Jajodia is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in the field with The SportsRush. <\/p>\n<p>Advait has a love of basketball that stems from playing the game, and has represented Mumbai North at the Inter-District State Championship and Maharashtra at the ASISC National Games.<\/p>\n<p>His favorite team is the New Orleans Pelicans, although Advait also has an affinity for the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. His favorite player of all time was Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers legend&#8217;s undeniable talent and mentality were just unignorable. As for players in the current game, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Kyrie Irving are top of Advait&#8217;s list.<\/p>\n<p>When not watching or writing about sports, Advait is a fan of true crime shows, board games and console gaming.\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"author-know-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/author\/advait-jajodia\" aria-label=\"Author know more\">Know More<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Dipayan Moitra<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/news-jaden-mcdaniels-explains-compelled-take-flagrant-foul-shai-gilgeous-alexander-wasn-t-even-mad\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Jaden McDaniels is at the center of attention owing to his actions in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, stirring controversy. McDaniels enraged<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":277125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}