James Harden's mom: Matt Barnes apologized after Game 2 trash-talking
Of course Matt Barnes talked trash to somebody's mother. Of course he did. He's Matt Barnes.
The NBA's preeminent agitator was at his irritating best for Game 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets on Wednesday. But it wasn't his production - six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals - that drew the ire of the Rockets, who surely didn't mind his minus-17 mark in 34 minutes.
Instead, it was Barnes' usual antics that rubbed Houston wrong. In this case, it was Barnes trash-talking the mother of superstar James Harden.
I've been told Matt Barnes talked smack to James Harden's mom during the game.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) May 7, 2015
Apparently some people with the Rockets are not happy about it.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) May 7, 2015
This isn't Barnes' first run-in with Harden, with the Clippers' wing earning a flagrant foul for tackling Harden in March and earning a technical foul in the first quarter Wednesday for bumping him.
The Rockets got the last laugh with a 115-109 victory, one that included Harden going off for 16 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
Still, Monja Willis doesn't deserve any sass from Barnes, and it will be interesting to see if the Rockets take justice into their own hands as the series heads to L.A. A hard foul early could set the tone for another physical game in what's quickly becoming a chippy series.
Barnes may have been thinking along the same lines, as Willis told TMZ that Barnes apologized ... after it was suggested he do so by her older son.
"What he told me was that he would never want to disrespect anyone's mother because his mother passed from cancer," Willis said. "And that he was sorry. I accept his apology."
Hopefully the series doesn't get so heated that mothers need to be brought back in to the proceedings.