A childish prank during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz on Monday night could come back and haunt point guard Delonte West.
West was given a technical foul after touching Jazz guard Gordon Hayward's head during the closing moments on the second period, and West gave a better explanation of the incident after the game.
"I was giving him a wet willy, that's all,'' West said in a report by The Dallas Morning News. "He had some lint in his hair."
West was called for a personal foul after pushing Haywood with his forearm with 3:41 left in the first half. West then went over and stuck his finger into Haywood's ear before pushing him again.
''I wanted to fight right there, but you can't do that,'' Hayward told the AP before Tuesday's practice. ''It wouldn't have been the smart idea. I'd
risk getting a technical foul, getting suspended for the season,
whatever. There's more important things than fighting someone out on the
court.''
The paper reports that West might get a call from the league office for the offense in the next couple of days.
"We were two warriors. We were battling. I forgot the NBA's a gentleman's game. We got to fight and scratch, and do it nice," West said. "You get caught up in the emotions and it's physical. You get caught in the moment sometimes.''
West did not seem too bothered by the notion that the league might contact him.
"If they do, they do. If they don't, they don't," he said.
Several Jazz players reacted to the weirdness of the incident after the game.
"Yeah, someone said something to me about it," Haywood told The Salt Lake Tribune. "What am I going to do? Fight him and we both get kicked out and I could be done for the season?
"Just have to keep your composure more than getting into a fight or anything like that. The most important thing is getting the win."
The Jazz went on to win the game 123-121 in triple overtime.
The Mavericks, battling for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference, can ill-afford to lose West, who has been a key contributor this season.
