Nets Nic Claxton ejected after clotheslining Hawks Dyson Daniels in brutal foul

Nic Claxton watched the final eight minutes of the Nets’ 120-116 season-opening loss to the Hawks from the locker room. The Brooklyn big man was ejected in the fourth quarter after he was called for a Flagrant 2 foul for clotheslining Dyson Daniels as he went for a layup. The incident occurred just after the Nets had turned the ball over, and the Hawks transitioned the other way, with the ball ending up in Daniels’ hands. Claxton didn’t appear to go for the ball and wiped the Atlanta guard out with his arm as he went up for the basket. The Nets big man’s arm seemed to make contact with Daniels’ upper body send his head back from the force and sending Daniels to the floor. He was quick to get up and charge at Claxton over the foul. Daniels got into Claxton’s face, and the two exchanged words in the stands before teammates and security broke it up.No punches were thrown during the incident. The officials reviewed the play to determine if the foul was a Flagrant 1 or Flagrant 2, eventually deciding on the latter. According to the league, a Flagrant 2 is “unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.” The play by Claxton certainly seemed to match the definition and resulted in his early exit from the contest. The Nets trailed the Hawks 93-89 at the time of the altercation and there was 8:03 left on the clock. There had been some questions about whether Claxton would play in the season opener, but the 25-year-old appeared to silence those questions earlier this week. Claxton is now the longest-tenured member of the organization after a number of changes over the offseason and was expected to take more of a leadership role this season....