The trip to Dallas was not a good one for Chris Paul, his performances in both games left a lot to be desired. The veteran point guard of the Phoenix turned 37 years old ahead of Game 3 and followed up the milestone with two extremely uncharacteristic games, turning the ball over 7 times in Game 3 and fouling out in Game 4, with the Suns losing both to allow the Mavericks to tie up the series.
Paul’s night after Game 4 got even worse when there was an incident involving a Mavericks fan in the stands who put his hands on Paul’s mother and wife. The fan was swiftly escorted out of the stadium, with many trying to figure out exactly what it was that he did to make Paul’s mom so uncomfortable. And there is some new video footage of the situation that shows the fan tapping Paul’s mom on the shoulder from behind.
While there was never a reason for the fan to touch Paul’s family, the incident doesn’t look as bad as was initially feared, and there may have been some overreactions from the media in the flow of how heated the series had become. The fan has shared his side of the story too, suggesting that he ended up getting some people to their seats that he should not have and the punishment of what seems to be a year-long ban from the American Airlines Center seems fair in light of the transgressions.
Statement from the Dallas Mavericks on the incident involving Chris Paul’s family and fans. Two fans, who gave unwanted hugs to Paul’s family, will be banned from American Airlines Center until 2023: pic.twitter.com/tDTVcD36uU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 9, 2022
While it’s never right for fans or anyone to touch someone without their consent, the whole incident does seem mighty overblown after looking at the video footage. The fans will have learned their lesson after a swift reaction and an appropriate ban being handed out, and hopefully, the Mavericks vs. Suns series can go back to being about the basketball again, with a very important Game 5 on the horizon on Tuesday night.
