Suns' Devin Booker Calls Out Grant Williams for Scuffle: 'He Wants to Do the Antics'

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was unhappy with Grant Williams following an on-court scuffle involving Kevin Durant in Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Booker called out Williams for wanting "to do the antics" and not wanting "to play basketball tonight."

The situation occurred in the first quarter when Williams tried to fight over a screen to stick with Durant, who got bumped to the ground by the Mavs forward. Williams followed it up by appearing as if he were trying to step over Durant before Jusuf Nurkić intervened by shoving him.

Williams was initially called for a foul on the play. The escalation of the situation led to a triple-technical being assessed to Williams, Nurkić and Durant.

It's not a surprise that things got chippy between these two teams. Booker and Luka Dončić have a history of antagonizing each other dating back to the 2022 Western Conference semifinals.

The Mavericks overcame a 3-2 deficit in the series to win in seven games. The final game of the series, a 123-90 win by Dallas on the Suns' home court, provided an image that is still being used today.

Booker and Dončić got into it late in the fourth quarter of a game last season when Booker yelled something at the Mavs star, who was upset he didn't get a foul call.

Williams is a new element to this rivalry. He's in his first season with the Mavericks after being acquired during the offseason in a sign-and-trade deal with the Boston Celtics.

There were a total of seven technical fouls called in the game. Williams was ejected in the third quarter after receiving a second technical for complaining to the officials about Nurkić.

Dončić was assessed a technical foul going into halftime for walking off the court early. Booker, who scored 46 points in the victory, made the free throw at the start of the third quarter.

The Suns overcame a sluggish start in which they trailed by as many as 16 points in the second quarter to get the win. They have won seven consecutive games and are a season-high eight games over .500 at 26-18.

Dallas (24-20) has lost three straight and four of its last five games.