Bismack Biyombo

Toronto Raptors center-forward Bismack Biyombo (8) is helped off the floor by a Raptors staff member after he's struck below by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dahntay Jones.

(Frank Gunn)

TORONTO - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dahntay Jones says he was shocked to learn he was being suspended a game for his hit below the belt of Toronto Raptors forward Bismack Biyombo late in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I honesty didn't expect it," Jones told cleveland.com. Jones said it wasn't intentional.

The incident occurred during a box-out for a rebound between the two in the closing seconds of the Raptors' 99-84 win on Saturday at Air Canada Centre. Biyombo dropped to the hardwood upon impact and remained there a couple of minutes.

"I was just trying to box him out," Jones told cleveland.com. "He was obviously dominant on the boards all game and I was just trying to box him out. He was flying at me, and that was it."

Biyombo was indeed dominant on the glass. He pulled down a franchise-record 26 rebounds and swatted a game-high four blocks.

"I've never been hit like that before," Biyombo told cleveland.com after the game. "That was the first time and that's why I was on the floor for a long time. There's not much I can say on that play."

The tricky part for the league in handing down a penalty in this case is determining an individual's intent. There's no way to get inside a player's head to see what he was planning to do.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is in a similar situation.

He kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams down low in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday and now is awaiting his fate for Game 4. OKC leads the series, 2-1. No Green for Game 4 would be a major loss for the Warriors.

Green insisted it was an accident, but the Jones verdict could have a major impact on the league's pending decision.

"I can't comment on Draymond's play whatsoever; all I know is the NBA told me they voted unanimously that I did it with intent," Jones told cleveland.com. "I wasn't even looking. My eyes never looked at him, his crotch at any point in time during the play. I was looking away when it happened, but they voted unanimously."

Initially, Jones thought Biyombo was milking it.

"I saw him go down, but I honestly and truthfully thought he was just trying to get attention," he said. "The contact was so marginal between the two of us on the box out, that I didn't think something was wrong."

As far as Jones is concerned, there are no hard feelings and he took steps to make sure Biyombo is aware that he's sorry for what happened.

"I reached out to him through Kyle Lowry, because I do have a lot of respect for Bismack and it's not something I would do to intentionally hurt him," he said. "I don't have any problems with him."

Jones will not be allowed to enter Air Canada Centre for tonight's Game 4. He said he's going to watch the game and cheer on his teammates from his hotel room.

"This series is way bigger than the Bismack play, and we have to stay focused and we are focused. We're ready to play," Jones said.