Rondo, coach exchange harsh words: Mavs win despite bench row

DALLAS – Discord in Dallas, even in victory.

The Mavericks’ rally to beat the Toronto Raptors, 99-92, on Tuesday night with starting point guard Rajon Rondo affixed to the bench after he and coach Rick Carlisle exchanged words during a timeout early in the third quarter.

Toronto led 62-53 when Carlisle called out to Rondo, who was dribbling past midcourt. Carlisle then abruptly called time out. After the Dallas players in the game reached the bench area, Carlisle and Rondo had an animated conversation amid a crowd of players and coaches. Rondo didn’t return to the game.

Carlisle said he and Rondo had a “difference of opinion.” Asked if Rondo’s absence was a coaching decision or disciplinary, Carlisle said Rondo didn’t play again “because I’m the coach and that’s the decision that I made at the time.”

Asked if Rondo would be Dallas’ point guard for Wednesday night’s game at Atlanta, Carlisle said: “That’s what we brought him here for.”

Rondo didn’t speak to the media in the locker room after the game. He played 17:45 and finished with four points, four assists, three fouls and two turnovers.

Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 20 points while Dirk Nowitzki added 18 in their third straight victory. Dallas’ substitute guards pitched in with 27 points: Devin Harris 14 and J.J. Barea with 13.

“I thought it worked out well,” Carlisle said of Rondo’s absence for most of the second half. “The other guys stepped up, and we were able to win.”

In other games, LeBron James had 11 assists in Cleveland’s 102-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Michigan; the Golden State Warriors subdued the Washington Wizards, 114-107; and the Oklahoma City Thunder trounced the Indiana Pacers, 105-92.

James thus moved past Scottie Pippen for first place on the NBA career list for forwards. James now has 6,142 assists, seven more than Pippen.