The NBA has doled out punishments for Secret Hallwaygate, and the Houston Rockets aren’t happy about it.
As a quick recap: Things became chippy during the Los Angeles Clippers’ Monday night win over the Rockets. It was the first time Chris Paul returned to Staples Center as a member of his new team, and tensions were running high. Trevor Ariza and Blake Griffin were tussling with one another. Paul and Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni exchanged words with Griffin. The Clippers bench, led by Austin Rivers, celebrated egregiously throughout the night.
You know, usual NBA stuff.
After the game, though, a faction of Rockets including Ariza, Paul, Gerald Green and James Harden made their way to the Clippers locker room via a backdoor hallway. Nothing happened once they entered, save for a few words and icy stares and fake-tough-guy adrenaline rushes. But the entire ordeal made for a great night on NBA Twitter.
That brings us to Wednesday, when the league finally levied its punishments—which only impacted Ariza and Green, according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources. The NBA is suspending Houston’s Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green two games for aggressively entering Clippers locker room. No penalties for Chris Paul and James Harden.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
No discipline for Clippers Blake Griffin, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
NBA's Kiki Vandeweghe tells ESPN that interviews with 20 people on scene caused them to conclude that Chris Paul and James Harden acted as "peacemakers" and tried to diffuse the situation with Ariza and Green.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
This, naturally, did not sit well with the Rockets, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
The Houston Rockets are shocked and disappointed that Blake Griffin and Austin Rivers avoided any disciplinary action as a result of the events during and after the Clippers‘ contentious win Monday night in Los Angeles, team sources told ESPN. . . .
The Rockets are upset that Griffin and Rivers weren’t disciplined for their roles in the events that led to Ariza’s anger escalating to the point that he stormed into the Clippers’ locker room to confront them.
Someone oughta tell the rattled Rockets players it doesn’t work like that. No one’s denying they were perturbed by what Griffin and/or Rivers were saying and doing during the game. But the officials handled that on the court. Ariza and Griffin were ejected. That was that.
The NBA wasn’t investigating anything until said Rockets players actually made their way over to the Clippers’ locker room. And while Clippers players may have turned rowdy and aggressive once the Rockets’ stowaways arrived, the NBA cannot, in theory, punish them for being in their own corners.
If anything, the Rockets should count themselves lucky that Paul and Harden, who is set to return from a hamstring injury, weren’t suspended as well. Their pursuit of revenge needn’t be tied to disciplinary actions. These two teams meet on Feb. 28, once again at Staples Center. The Rockets can seek retribution then—preferably without allowing their emotions, or the Clippers’ antics, to get the best of them.
