Kendrick Perkins and Zach Randolph reportedly carried an on-court altercation into the hallways near the locker rooms after both were ejected Wednesday night.
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, center, pulls down a rebound in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) and center Kendrick Perkins (5) in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Memphis won 107-97.The Boston Celtics have been encouraging Jeff Green to be more of a jerk.
One of the men for whom he was traded two seasons ago, Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, has never needed much of the same grooming, at least on the court. Perkins is widely acknowledged as a fun-loving and laid-back giant off the hardwood, but plays with a permanent scowl and tends to find his way into altercations with opponents on a semi-regular basis.
Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies in Oklahoma City, Perkins again displayed a level of displeasure with an opponent. While lined up for a Russell Westbrook free throw late in the fourth quarter, Perkins and Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph jawed at each other. After the two shared words -- which included Perkins telling Randolph he'd meet him "by the bus" and Randolph responding that he would kick Perkins' rear -- both were ejected from the game, which Memphis went on to win 107-97.
The Perkins-Randolph saga reportedly didn't end there. The NBA league office confirmed it's investigating an incident that occurred between the two in a hallway near the locker rooms after the ejections. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that "both tried to get to each other but security prevented physical altercation," quoting a witness as calling the incident "playground stupid."
While the reports are interesting, we can all agree it's a good thing the two didn't do physical battle in the hallway. It's been a long time since the world has viewed the damaged caused by two Tyrannosaurus rex going at it.