Rondo denies spitting at Paul, says Rockets guard a ‘horrible teammate’

Los Angeles Lakers’ Rajon Rondo (9) defends on Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo insisted he did not intentionally spit at Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul, whom he also called a “horrible teammate.”

Rondo, Paul and Lakers forward Brandon Ingram were all handed suspensions by the NBA for their involvement in the brawl at Staples Center on Sunday.

Speaking with ESPN on Wednesday (Manila time), Rondo said he was wearing a mouthpiece and that his body language during the incident implied he did not spit at Paul.

READ: NBA suspends Ingram, Rondo, Paul in Lakers-Rockets dustup

“This is the only time I’m going to address this,” Rondo told ESPN. “I had a mouthpiece in my mouth and I [was] exasperated because I was about to tell him to ‘get the [expletive] out of here.’

“Look at my body language [in the video]. My hands on my hips. I turn away for a second. Look at Eric (Gordon} and Melo (Carmelo Anthony) in the video. If they saw me spit, they would have turned their face up or something. They had no reaction.”

Rondo hit out at Paul’s “good guy” reputation that he thinks may have led the NBA from only giving Paul a two-game suspension.

The 32-year-old Rondo was given a three-game suspension for spitting and throwing punches at Paul while Ingram, who appeared to have triggered the melee after shoving Rockets guard James Harden and was also seen throwing a punch at Paul, was slapped with a four-game ban.

READ: Lakers’ Ingram grateful 4-game suspension wasn’t harsher

“Of course, the NBA went with his side because I got three games and he got two,” Rondo said in the same interview. “Everyone wants to believe Chris Paul is a good guy. They don’t know he’s a horrible teammate. They don’t know how he treats people. Look at what he did last year when he was in L.A.; trying to get to the Clippers’ locker room. They don’t want to believe he’s capable of taunting and igniting an incident.”

Rondo, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, stressed there’s no spitting incident that happened.

“Y’all are playing me with these tricks or these mind games, tampering with the evidence,” he said. “Ain’t no way that I intentionally spit on you with my body language the way it was.”

“One, if I spit on you, bottom line, there is not going to be no finger-pointing. If you felt that I just spit on you, then all bets are off. Two, look at my body language. If I spit on you on purpose, I’m going to be ready for a man to swing on me. You ain’t going to have my hands on my hip and my head look away at someone if I spit on them. After the [expletive] goes down, within 30 seconds, you run and tell the sideline reporters that I spit on you? If I spit on you, you are trying to get to me. You not trying to make up a story so you can look like a good guy. It makes no sense to me.

“I was going to let it rest. I wasn’t going to say much. But now I have kids and I teach my kids to speak up for themselves and don’t let the world tell their story.”

Paul, a nine-time NBA All-Star, will make his return for the Rockets against the Clippers, his former team, on Saturday.

Rondo will be available against the Denver Nuggets on Friday while Ingram won’t be back until the Lakers visit Spurs on Sunday.