During the second quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Mavericks and Thunder, tempers flared after a foul on Russell Westbrook by J.J. Barea.
Westbrook had Barea posted up when he made a quick move towards the paint. Barea grabbed Westbrook’s arm as he went up for the shot and the Thunder guard took exception to the foul. The two got in each other’s faces and pushing and shoving ensued.
Westbrook, Barea, Serge Ibaka, and Charlie Villanueva were each assessed technical fouls. Villanueva, who grabbed at Westbrook’s throat during the scuffle, was ejected. Westbrook later picked up a second technical foul for shrugging Barea off of him and was subsequently ejected himself.
Westbrook just picked up his second tech for shrugging off Barea in transition and saying "get the f— off me, man." Westbrook ejected.
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) January 14, 2016
As it was noted during the broadcast, the pesky play of J.J. Barea combined with the fiery nature of Russell Westbrook had the potential for a combustible situation and that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday.
