Tense NBA game almost boils over into locker room confrontation: Report
LOS ANGELES -- Tempers that flared during the Los Angeles Clippers' victory over the Houston Rockets carried over after the game. Several security guards were present outside the Rockets' locker room Monday night following a 113-102 loss to the Clippers that got heated on the court.
Citing anonymous NBA sources, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported several Rockets players headed toward the Clippers' locker room afterward, seeking a confrontation, but were escorted away by security before anything got physical. It was unclear whether any of them actually got inside the Clippers' room.
Asked about it, Clippers coach Doc Rivers would only say his team was in its own locker room. "Their entire team was not in their locker room," he said, referring to the Rockets.
Walking into his postgame interview, Rivers joked, "We're honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're non-violent."
Asked if there was a postgame confrontation, Rockets guard and former Clippers star Chris Paul dodged the question. The game marked his return to Los Angeles.
CBSSports.com's Colin Ward-Henninger explains it all unfolded following a chippy game. "Paul, of course, was a member of the Clippers for the previous six seasons before requesting a trade to Houston in the offseason," Ward-Henninger notes.
Wojnarowski spelled it all out on Twitter:
Houston Rockets’ players James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green pushed into Clippers locker room post-game looking to confront Austin Rivers, league sources tell ESPN. Security escorted Rockets out before anything turned physical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 16, 2018
Rockets players were clamoring for Blake Griffin too, league sources said. Chris Paul also entered with other Rockers players through a backstory that connects team dressing rooms. https://t.co/BRgyHe1WgL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 16, 2018
Rockets players were clamoring for Blake Griffin too, league sources said. Chris Paul also entered with other Rockers players through a backstory that connects team dressing rooms. https://t.co/BRgyHe1WgL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 16, 2018
Ward-Henninger points out that reactions -- many humorous -- lit up Twitter