Tuesday night's game between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets was a highly-physical one that had a lot of tense moments. A total seven technical fouls were called and Rockets forward Trevor Ariza was ejected in the match following a heated exchange of words with Salah Mejri after the Mavs center apparently insulted Ariza's wife and kids.
Their tussle did not end on the court as Ariza together and his teammates, Patrick Beverley and Eric Gordon, were reportedly seen outside of the Mavericks' locker room to confront Mejri. Cooler heads prevailed as the three agreed to leave the area to avoid any unwanted encounters.
Mejri took to his Twitter account on Wednesday morning to give his side of the story. He made it clear that he did not say anything to insult Ariza's family and that he's committed to mutual respect.
There is always 2 sides to every story.I would never insult an opponent's family regardless of how much a player insulted me repeatedly pic.twitter.com/Gi8b9F8bzD
— Salah Mejri (@50Mejri) December 28, 2016
Last night was a physical,intense game.We r professional athletes & role models to young basketball players.Im commited to mutual respect
— Salah Mejri (@50Mejri) December 28, 2016
I am committed to have mutual respect to every player on the court. Let's play BASKETBALL. Happy holidays everyone!! pic.twitter.com/LxZUp03x5m
— Salah Mejri (@50Mejri) December 28, 2016
Despite no off-court confrontation happening after the match, it is still likely that the league will intervene, especially with Ariza's intended action. It's also worth monitoring if their beef lingers on despite the teams not playing each other again this season.
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