The surreal Rockets-Clippers locker room feud Monday night resulted in a pair of two-game suspensions for both Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green.
This reportedly came as a shock and a disappointment to Houston’s players, who couldn’t believe that neither Blake Griffin or Austin Rivers faced any kind of disciplinary action from the NBA.
Sources: Rockets shocked and disappointed Clippers' Blake Griffin and Austin Rivers escaped disciplinary action https://t.co/ubmKERy7K0
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 18, 2018
The war of words escalated to the point where Ariza and three of his teammates stormed into the Clippers’ locker room.
Per SI:
According to a Rockets source, Ariza was waiting on Griffin, and when the game ended he charged from the hallway into the Clips locker room. When Rivers spotted Ariza near the entrance, according to the source, he said: “Let his b—– a– come in.” Ariza then turned his attention to Rivers.
ESPN reported that Ariza was flanked by three teammates—Harden, Paul and Gerald Green—but their purpose was unclear. “They were holding Trevor back,” the source said. Security was summoned and no punches were thrown, unless you count the jab [Chris] Paul landed in his post-game interview, when he praised [Loui] Williams and suggested the Clippers run their offense through the quick-trigger guard. He didn’t mention Griffin or the hallway. Meanwhile, [Patrick] Beverley tweeted: “It’s a different culture in LA. No more soft s— here!!!!!”
“We’re honoring Martin Luther King Day,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re non-violent….Let’s put it like this: our team was in our locker room. That’s all I’ll say. I’ll let you do the rest of the investigation. I will say their entire team was not in their locker room. You’re going to have to figure it out from there.”
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