I guess familiarity does indeed breed contempt.

Things got a little testy in the third quarter of Game 2 of the Mavs/Warriors series. Stephen Jackson fouled Jason Terry in the open court. After the whistle blew, Jackson raised his hand, indicating the foul was on him, but Terry kept dribbling the ball. He passed Baron Davis (who swiped at the ball) and then he passed Matt Barnes (who also swiped at the ball). Terry took umbrage at Barnes’ actions, and stepped towards Barnes with his chest all puffed up while Dasagana Diop (who was nearby) took a swipe at Barnes’ arms. A small scrum developed and Diop, Davis and Jackson were all hit with technical fouls. Diop got his for swiping at a player who didn’t have the ball after the whistle had blown, but it’s not exactly clear what Davis or Jackson did to deserve their technicals (other than having reputations for being malcontents).

I mention this incident because both Golden State players were tossed later in the game. Jackson’s ejection came after the game was pretty much over, but Davis’ ejection came at the tail end of the third quarter with the Warriors trailing, 85-74. He clearly fouled Jerry Stackhouse on the play, and then overreacted to the foul call against him. He flailed his arms around and then started smiling and clapping (in a mocking fashion, mind you) and wouldn’t stop. He just kept clapping loudly – well past the point of discomfort – and he got tossed for it.

Davis is arguably Golden State’s best and most experienced player. Moreover, he’s a point guard (and the team’s leader) and he should know to keep his emotions in check when there is so much on the line. It’s not like the game was a blowout, Golden State was only down 11 and there was a whole quarter to play. Don’t forget that the Mavs haven’t shown a great ability in the past to close out games, either. His team had a legitimate shot of coming back to win the game, but his ejection pretty much sealed the loss. It was a bonehead move, pure and simple.

But back to Jason Terry. His decision to keep attacking the basket after the foul had already been called precipitated the two technicals being levied against Davis and Jackson. If you’re going to act like you didn’t hear the whistle, why do you get all bent out of shape when your opponent does the same thing? I just don’t get it.

Regardless, the Warriors are in the Mavs’ heads right now, and this is shaping up to be an interesting series.