Carmelo Anthony on dustup with Al Horford: ‘A Dominican and Puerto Rican'

Share

BOSTON -- Whether it’s Christmas Day or just any old date on the NBA calendar, things will likely become a little testy when the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics play each other.

That was indeed the case during Boston’s 119-114 Christmas Day win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

There was a Derrick Rose drive to the basket that included him landing an elbow to Marcus Smart’s mouth that kept Smart down for a couple minutes and drew blood. Rose was whistled for an offensive foul on the play.

And then there was the double technical call against Al Horford and Carmelo Anthony in the third quarter, an incident in which Horford was laughing most of the time… until he realized he was hit with a technical along with Anthony, who on replay was seen doing most of the talking.

When reporters asked Anthony following the Knicks loss to explain the incident with Horford, he replied, grinning, “a Dominican and Puerto Rican. That’s all.”

Anthony, whose father is Puerto Rican, would later explain, “No hard feelings; we have love for the Dominicans. It’s nothing serious. That’s what happens when New York and Boston play.”

Horford, who had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots in Sunday’s win, was born in the Dominican Republic before moving to Lansing, Michigan in the summer of 2000.

Contact Us