Coach Rajon Rondo and Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle Have Heated Exchange

DALLAS -- Point guard Rajon Rondo did not play the final 20-plus minutes of the Dallas Mavericks' 99-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, after a profanity-laced shouting match with coach Rick Carlisle over play-calling responsibilities. The incident occurred with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter, when Carlisle stormed out on the American Airlines Center court to call a timeout and shouted at Rondo, who appeared to be ignoring a play call from the bench as he brought the ball up the floor.Rondo responded by shouting back at Carlisle. They exchanged heated words for much of the timeout, with assistant coach Jamahl Mosley at one point stepping in front of Rondo to prevent the point guard and coach from getting in each other's faces.Here's what happened. With 8:22 left in the third quarter, Carlisle and Rondo had some sort of dispute. It appeared Carlisle wanted a timeout called, something Rondo ignored, leading to Carlisle calling it himself. As he came to the bench, Carlisle exchanged heated words with Rondo and took him out of the game. He did not return.Carlisle had the highly publicized benching of Rajon Rondo in January. In a podcast around the trade, Grantland's Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe said they heard whispers that Carlisle may not have been totally sold on the trade when it happened. This is unconfirmed and clearly Carlisle signed off on the trade in some form, but it's interesting in this context.After the timeout, Carlisle inserted Devin Harris for Rondo, who remained sidelined for the duration of the game. He finished with four points (on 2-for-6 shooting), four assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes. “It’s just a coach’s decision," Carlisle said of Rondo's departure. "We’ve talked about these before. I thought it worked out well. The other guys stepped up and we were able to win the game.”This isn’t the first time Carlisle benched Rondo, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Celtics. It’s not too surprising Rondo and Carlisle, both of whom can be difficult, have crossed each other. But, now, it’s up to both to move past what could go down as a minor incident. That should be easier to do with the Mavericks winning. Arguments almost always resolve themselves more quickly after victories.