Trevor Ariza wasn’t having it when Trae Young dribbled the ball through his legs in the third quarter Saturday night.
“Don’t do that shit again,” Ariza told Young after delivering an unmistakable message with a hard shove, earning a flagrant foul.
The Atlanta Hawks walked away with a 129-117 win against visiting Portland, and the Trailblazers’ 34-year-old veteran forward said the incident was “not a big deal.”
Per The Athletic:
“I told him, ‘Don’t do that shit again; not to me at least,”‘ Ariza said. “I mean, I’ve never made an All-Defensive team or none of that shit, and he’s an All-Star, so he can be creative by ways to get around me. But all the, like, funnies? I’m not with the funnies. I don’t like the funnies.”
It was unclear whether Ariza’s message got through to Young.
“We talked, that’s what we do,” said Young, who had 25 points and 15 assists. “You compete on the court, then off it, you are better.”
When asked if he thought it violated an unspoken NBA code, Ariza shrugged his shoulders.
“I mean, I’m not mad at him or anything,” Ariza said. “What happened, happened. It’s over. I’m sure as a basketball player, a person who takes pride in playing their man and competing, understands what he did. That’s all no big deal. There’s just certain shit you can not do.”
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