Knicks rookie center Mitchell Robinson managed to ruffle some feathers in his NBA preseason debut on Monday night.
Robinson and Wizards veteran Markieff Morris shouted at each other during the first half, leading to technical fouls on both sides. But Morris was ejected -- and he wasn't thrilled about it after the game.
"He's a stupid-ass rookie talking too much,'' Morris said, per the New York Post. "Obviously, I didn't like what he said and the refs overplayed it and threw me out. I don't even know him. I hadn't even seen him before. He had just checked into the game. I never even guarded him. I didn't even know there was a Mitchell on their team."
It was not clear what was said between the two, but Knicks coach David Fizdale was happy with the way Robinson handled the situation.
"You don't instigate it but you don't back down ... The kid's tough," Fizdale said, according to Newsday. "Don't let his slim frame fool you. He's not going to back away. The kid grew up in some tough surroundings. I'm sure he got in some scuffles down there in the bayou. That's who we are. That's the Knicks' DNA. We're going to keep holding on to that. We may not necessarily totally instigate stuff, but we're definitely not shying away from stuff."
The 20-year-old Robinson scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds to go along with a block and an alley-oop play.
Mitchell Robinson throws it down on the run! 😮#NBARooks #NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/qbEGTFfrUT
- NBA (@NBA) October 1, 2018