Sam Merrill lets Ausar Thompson off hook. Cavaliers did same. Opinion

CLEVELAND — Perhaps Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson misinterpreted a message from coach J. B. Bickerstaff .

“You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Bickerstaff , formerly of the Cavaliers , said after the Pistons lost Game 5 on Wednesday, May 13, at home to fall behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals. Two days after Bickerstaff uttered those words, Thompson used his left hand to grab Cavs shooting guard Sam Merrill by the neck and steamroll him with 8:04 left in the second quarter. The Pistons proceeded to pummel the Cavs en route to a 115-94 win in Game 6 at Rocket Arena, tying the second-round playoff series 3-3.

A winner-take-all Game 7 is set for 8 p. m. Sunday, May 17, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Study the replay shown on the Amazon Prime telecast, and you’ll probably find it stunning Thompson could remain in the game after grabbing Merrill’s neck. Merrill was on offense and attempting to set a screen when Thompson threw him to the floor and stepped over him on the way to Detroit’s bench. But after a replay review, Thompson received a Flagrant 1 foul, not a Flagrant 2 foul, which triggers an ejection.