The Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 111-101 home win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at two games a piece, but it was an off the court incident that stole the headlines.
The game was overshadowed by an incident involving Suns guard Chris Paul’s family: ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin reported from a source familiar with the situation that Mavs fans allegedly touched Paul’s mother and pushed his wife in front of Paul’s children. In a video seen on social media, a fan wearing a Mavericks jersey is being escorted out of the building with an angry Paul yelling out, « Hey! Hey! I’ll see you later! I’ll see you later! » It is not clear that the fan was the one who allegedly got physical with Paul’s family. After the game, Paul wasn’t asked about the incident by reporters but tweeted, « Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….f**k that!! » In a statement to CNN, the Mavericks said, « The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident between a fan and the family of Chris Paul. It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game. » On the court, Paul registered more fouls than points for the first time in his postseason career, finishing with six fouls and five points, as he fouled out for the first time since 2018. « I can’t put myself in the situations to give [the referees] that ability to do that, » Paul said according to ESPN. « I just got to look at myself and figure out how to be better.
