Adrian WojnarowskiESPN
LOS ANGELES -- In the aftermath of a cantankerous loss to the LA Clippers, Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza and stars Chris Paul and James Harden marched through a back corridor and into the Clippers' locker room late Monday night, suggesting that they wanted to confront Clippers players Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin, league sources told ESPN.
Rockets guard Gerald Green joined Ariza, Paul and Harden through the connecting hallway and breached the entrance of the home locker room.
Stunned Clippers players, celebrating a 113-102 victory, leaped to their feet upon the realization that four seething Rockets players had come calling for them, sources told ESPN.
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 Clipper witness told ESPN. "None of these guys were going to fight."
The NBA will investigate the matter and start gathering information on Tuesday, league sources said.
"We were where we were supposed to be," Griffin said. "We were in our locker room. So whatever happens over there, I mean, we can't control what anybody else does. We control what we did. Everybody was in our seats. That's it. You should ask them."
Harden was sitting out his seventh straight game with a strained hamstring on Monday night, and Rockets sources believe that he'll be ready for a return to the lineup on Thursday night against Minnesota.
The Clippers coaching staff was in a separate room, heard the ruckus and rushed out --- only to see their old point guard, Paul, getting pushed back out and into the hallway, sources said. On a night that the Clippers organization played a video montage to honor Paul's six seasons here, the fractured relationships that led to his departure in June percolated in the raucous fallout of the night.
The Rockets players were filled with a greater animus for Austin Rivers, sources told ESPN, because they insist that he had been especially belligerent from the bench in the late stages of the Clippers victory. Out with a strained Achilles tendon and wearing a suit, Rivers was reveling in Griffin's dominant performance of 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Once Griffin became entangled with several Rockets, Rivers verbiage appeared to become more aggressive.
Griffin unleashed on the Rockets in the final minutes of the game, brushing past Mike D'Antoni and inspiring the Rockets coach to scream "F--- you," at him. Griffin fired a loose ball off the back of Eric Gordon as the Clippers star was falling out of bounds and, seconds later, he engaged in a skirmish with Ariza that led to double technical fouls and an ejection with 1:03 left.
On his way off the court and toward the tunnel that leads into the locker room, Griffin high-fived his Clippers teammates, ripped off his No. 32 jersey and tossed into the stands. Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer, stood a few feet away, howling with the Clippers crowd.
As the drama unfolded in the Clippers locker room later, Rockets center Clint Capela walked down the main corridor and banged on the front entrance to the Clippers locker room, league sources said. Soon, a Clippers staff member opened the door and looked up to see Capela, a formidable 6-foot-10 figure standing in the doorway.
She shut the door in Capela's face. For a few moments, Capela stood there, unsure how to proceed. Before long, Capela walked back to the Rockets locker room, showered and headed for the bus with the rest of the Rockets.
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