Yu Fei chose to push Shaquille O'Neal away rather than treat him more violently, and the sole reason for this was that he needed to ensure he stayed on the court.
Because the Wizards needed this win.
If he got ejected, the Wizards would have no hope of winning the game.
O'Neal couldn't believe Yu Fei dared to do such a thing to him. By the time his rage reached its peak, the players from both teams had already intervened, pulling apart those involved in the conflict.
In the end, the referees' decision was to give O'Neal and Yu Fei one foul each, no technicals.
Since both of them had already received technical fouls earlier, issuing another T would have led to ejection, which would severely impact the quality of this highly anticipated showdown.
In a league where superstars were treated like gods, this could not happen.