Mavs' Barea says he was ejected from game for saying 'this is a disaster'
Dallas Mavericks reserve guard J.J. Barea was ejected from the bench in the fourth quarter of the Mavs' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
JJ Barea says something to the ref and gets tossed from the bench, Mark Cuban says it's bullsh*t pic.twitter.com/ErGAROt9Wg
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 1, 2018
Afterward, the veteran said he didn't say anything offensive, and opined that the official who tossed him, Scott Foster, dislikes him.
"I was talking too much, but I never said a bad word the whole night," Barea said, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "The second (technical foul), I just said from the bench, 'This is a disaster.' That's it. But (Foster) has a problem with me. He was at half court! I average maybe three techs a year. I think every time it's him."
Mavs owner Mark Cuban tweeted later that Barea had directed his comments toward Foster, but took issue with the ejection.
All JJ said was " you guys are a disaster tonight ". Didn't yell it. Didn't scream it. Was sitting on the bench. Wasn't demonstrative. The ref was all the way across the court. No way anyone heard him. They threw him out.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) December 1, 2018
Foster was voted as the NBA's worst referee in a 2016 survey of players and coaches by the Los Angeles Times.