Paul Pierce’s No. 34 was retired at the TD Garden Sunday, but the pre-ceremony drama has persisted between two former Celtics guards.
Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Thomas were both ejected in the closing seconds of the first quarter during Wednesday night’s Lakers-Pelicans contest. The two players were issued technical fouls and had to be separated after a physical and verbal exchange escalated from the aggressive, on-the-body defense that began once Thomas entered the game with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
“For whatever reason, he’s an upset guy about me,” Thomas told reporters after the Pelicans’ 139-117 win.