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According to legend, the Staples Center has a secret tunnel that allows its visitors to travel into the home team's locker room. This tunnel has been used multiple times in the past in non-hostile disputes among opposing players, but in one instance it was used as a possible tool of aggression.
After a chippy game between the Houston Rockets and the Clippers, some of the Rockets players reportedly headed to the Clippers locker room using the secret tunnel that ex-Clipper Chris Paul apparently knew about, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. This happened several weeks ago.
For a few fleeting moments, several Clippers dared the Rockets to come farther into the room, sources said. Security and team officials soon converged on the Rockets, pushing them out the door and back toward the visiting locker room, sources said. Ariza was described as the first one through the door, with Paul lingering in the back, witnesses told ESPN.
“It was classic NBA,” one Clippers witness told ESPN. “None of these guys were going to fight.”
This bizarre incident didn't go by unchecked by the NBA, who slammed a two-game suspension on Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green. Nonetheless, the tunnel remained accessible, at least until Wednesday when the Clippers blocked it, per Doc Rivers' light statement.
Doc Rivers pregame before #Clippers–#Rockets – 'We've barricaded all the secret passageways.'
Later on the interview, made another joke – 'We're going to build a wall and make Houston pay for it!'
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 1, 2018
Rivers obviously has been very jovial about the whole incident. While it has been proven that some of the Rockets tried to enter Clippers locker room, there didn't seem to be a huge threat to the safety of the players involved. The NBA only suspended Green and Ariza to deter any reckless behavior of that nature, and the Clippers quickly sealed the passageways. Or did they?
