The Phoenix Suns won’t be too excited to return to Dallas after a brutal two-game stretch that saw the Mavericks even their second-round series at 2-2. But that frustration became personal for Chris Paul.
Shortly after the Suns’ 111-101 loss to the Mavericks in Sunday’s Game 4, Paul took to Twitter to call out how his family wast treated at American Airlines Center. According to Paul, some fans put their hands on his family members in the stands.
Footage from a timeout during the game also showed Paul having a heated conversation with an arena security staffer. He appeared to say that someone put their hands on his mother. (NSFW language in the tweet)
Here's Chris Paul in the 4th quarter talking to security in Dallas about a fan, saying "he put his hands on my mom." On Mother's Day. https://t.co/R3UE9GzMQR pic.twitter.com/LgaYLJzZdd
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) May 8, 2022
After the game, in which Paul fouled out of with just five points, he wanted to leave the press conference to avoid saying something that would get him fined.
Here's Chris Paul asking Suns comms if he could leave the postgame presser so he didn't get fined. He left about a minute later.
Between the officiating and whatever happened that he just tweeted about, CP3 is not happy right now: pic.twitter.com/BFCjGoxnHI
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) May 8, 2022
According to ESPN, someone put their hands on Paul’s mother. His wife, Jada, was also pushed.
A source familiar with Chris Paul's tweet after Game 4 told ESPN that Paul's mother had hands put on her by Dallas fans and Paul's wife was also pushed. To make matters worse, Paul's kids witnessed it. "They felt very unsafe," the source said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2022
The Mavericks released a statement after the game to condemn this fan’s behavior — specifying that it was just one person. According to the team, the fan was removed from the arena.
Statement from the Mavs after Game 4: “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.” https://t.co/nBW7dPkj0E
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 9, 2022
The series now heads to Phoenix for Game 5 on Tuesday. With the Mavericks’ win Sunday, the series is guaranteed to return to Dallas for Game 6 on Thursday.
