WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge stood up for Kelly Olynyk amid suggestions from Cleveland's Kevin Love that the second-year forward intentionally injured him during Sunday's Game 4 loss that ended Boston's season.
Love underwent surgery and is out for the remainder of the Cavaliers' season.
"I think that that's a little bit over the top," Ainge said of Love's comments. "It's understandable in the heat of the battle. I feel bad for Kevin Love because he's waited a long time to get where their team is right now, and now he doesn't get a chance to play. But I certainly don't think that Kelly did it on purpose."
Ainge hinted that he doesn't think the one-game suspension Olynyk received was warranted. Olynyk is expected to miss the 2015-16 season opener.
"I don't even think that that play would have been reviewed more than a foul had Kevin not gotten hurt," Ainge said. "But because Kevin did get hurt, the league does evaluate those situations, and I understand a little bit why they did it.
"There was a lot of pressure on Cleveland. They were losing J.R. Smith in the first couple of games of the next round, and they have Kevin out for the playoffs now. So I'm sure there was a lot of frustration in Cleveland and they wanted some justice, and they scrutinized it and felt like Kelly gave a little bit too much at the very end of that arm tangling.
"When someone gets hurt, you're just under a little bit more scrutiny. But I thought it was just a foul -- two guys going for a loose ball."