It got physical last night & there is history behind it. Serge Ibaka & Matt Barnes were both ejected after a scuffle in the Clippers’ 111-103 win over the Thunder. They were ejected after Blake Griffin was assessed a technical foul. After the ejection, Matt Barnes took to Twitter with a tweet that has everyone talking!
Check out the video of what happened, details & the tweet after the jump…
*TWEET ABOVE IN GALLERY*
Via ESPN:
Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes stood up for his teammates during Wednesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, then took to Twitter — while third-quarter play was still ongoing — with a racially charged tweet saying he would never do it again.
Barnes and Thunder forward Serge Ibaka were ejected with 6.2 seconds left in the second quarter after Ibaka and Clippers forward Blake Griffin got tangled up as Griffin tried to put up the ball. It looked like Ibaka had pushed Griffin, and Barnes shoved Ibaka hard in the chest. Players from both teams had to restrain Barnes and Ibaka from each other as Ibaka cocked his right fist as if to throw a punch while Barnes continued jawing with him. Griffin was assessed a technical foul.
This isn’t the first time Griffin and Ibaka have been involved in an altercation. Last season, Ibaka hit Griffin below the waist and the two had to be separated. Ibaka wasn’t ejected or suspended but was fined $25,000 after the incident.
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Reactions:
“One of the best teammates I’ve ever had. Matt has a big heart. He goes out there and competes every night. Not scared of nothing,” said Chris Paul, who hadn’t seen the tweet.
“We appreciate what Matt does for us, and he’s a great teammate,” Griffin said. “We’ve got his back, and he’s got ours.”
Jared Dudley said he would have done the same thing for Barnes.
“He’s a really tough guy and sometimes he wants that [from] everybody,” Dudley said. “It goes both ways. We’ve got to be a little bit tougher, and he’s got to be a little bit smarter.”
VIDEO:
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UPDATE:
Matt Barnes apologizes:
