Just butt-ugly
KG ejected after altercation with Howard
Dwight Howard asked, “Whatcha gonna do?” Kevin Garnett responded with a headbutt.
That exchange came as part of an altercation with 7:53 to go in the first quarter that led to Garnett being ejected and Howard picking up a technical in what were the most exciting moments of a 11399 Rockets victory in front of 16,115 at Barclays Center Monday night, as the Nets’ losing streak stretched to a seasonhigh six games.
“I don’t know,” said Howard — who finished with eight points and five rebounds in 28 minutes — when asked how it felt to be headbutted. “Maybe you should take [mixed martial arts] and see how it feels.”
Garnett didn’t speak to reporters after the game.
Things heated up quickly after Howard sealed Garnett behind him and tried to catch a lob pass. Garnett fouled Howard to try and prevent him from getting an easy dunk. After doing so, he turned to one of the referees and said, “He hooked me, man!” and gave Howard a light shove.
Howard responded by saying, “Get the [expletive] off me,” and shoving Garnett back. Garnett responded by throwing the ball at Howard, and after it bounced off the back of his shoulder, Howard turned around and said, “Whatcha gonna do?”
What Garnett did was headbutt Howard, leading to Howard hitting Garnett with an openhanded slap to the right side of his neck and face that sent Garnett into a frenzy. He eventually was put in a bear hug by Rockets forward Trevor Ariza as Howard stood calmly near center court.
“It escalated so quick … there was no hard foul,” said Mason Plumlee, who had a careerhigh 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds. “I’m sure it’ll be replayed a lot tonight on SportsCenter, but I didn’t see anything that was dirty until the punch.”
After both teams retreated to their benches and the referees reviewed the play for several minutes, Garnett received a pair of technicals, resulting in his ejection, while Howard picked up one and remained in the game. That left Nets coach Lionel Hollins irate and demanding an answer from the officials, but Garnett immediately left the court and returned to the locker room.
“They said it didn’t look like Garnett threw a punch,” Hollins said. “They said it was a halfpunch, or openhand … it wasn’t much of a punch, in their mind, when they looked at it.”
“In the good old days, that was a play on,” said Rockets coach Kevin McHale, who drafted Garnett 20 years ago while with the Timberwolves. “Now they throw people out. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
Jay Z and Beyonce — Brooklyn’s royal couple — showed up a few minutes after the altercation, and Jay Z in particular appeared to look a bit disappointed to have missed the festivities.
Given Wizards big man Nene was hit with a onegame suspension during the playoffs in the spring for headbutting Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, it will come as a surprise if the league office doesn’t slap Garnett with at least a onegame ban Tuesday, meaning he’ll at least miss Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies.
Garnett and Howard have a history going back to their days battling each other in the Eastern Conference playoffs when starring for the Celtics and Magic, respectively. Garnett reportedly constantly taunted Howard by saying, “Paint your face, clown!” and Garnett earned a technical for punching Howard’s forearm during Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals after Howard wouldn’t let go of Garnett’s jersey.