Despite some fireworks between Rajon Rondo and head coach Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks were able to hold off the visiting Toronto Raptors 99-92 Tuesday night.
Rondo and Carlisle yelled at each other in the third quarter, after which the point guard was benched.
Rajon Rondo didn't want to talk to the media after the game. The thing he would say: "We won. Discuss it with Rick."
— Bryan Gutierrez (@BallinWithBryan) February 25, 2015
Carlisle didn’t want to get into the details of the tiff with the inquiring media.
Rondo finished with 4 points and 4 assists in 17 minutes of action.
Per the Star-Telegram:
As the Raptors were in control of the game, Carlisle wanted Rondo to call a timeout. But as the timeout never came and Rondo kept dribbling the ball up the floor, Carlisle rushed onto the court, called timeout with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter and then shouted at Rondo as the nine-year veteran was headed to the bench. […] Rondo, an edgy player not known to back down to anyone, then cursed at Carlisle, and Carlisle cursed right back at him. When the dust settled, Devin Harris replaced Rondo, and Rondo never played again.
In trying to explain what happened between him and Rondo to make their tempers flare, Carlisle said: “It’s an emotional game and we had a difference of opinion, so there was an exchange and then in my mind it was over.” […] Asked if the difference of opinion was in regards to play-calling, Carlisle said: “I’m not going to get into that. But in my mind once it was over, it was over.”
“Both guys are very competitive, want to win, so that was unfortunate,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “But like I said that wasn’t the first time I’ve seen anything like that happen and it won’t be the last.” […] “Stuff like that is never good,” Nowitzki said of the Carlisle-Rondo dust-up. “It’s unfortunate, but like I say it does happens, and it’s how the team responds, it’s how the team moves forward, how both sides moves forward and make the best out of it.”
