Dallas Mavericks Coach Benches Rajon Rondo after Heated Argument

Dallas Mavericks Rajon Rondo was forced to watch his team come back from behind in Tuesday night's 99-92 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The point guard was benched after he got into a heated, profanity-laced argument with head coach Rick Carlisle. The incident occurred in the third quarter with about 8:10 remaining on the clock.

Carlisle had stormed onto the court to call a timeout before he proceeded to shout at Rondo, who appeared to have ignored Carlisle's play call from the bench. Rondo responded by yelling back and was subsequently benched for the remainder of the game.

"Well, it's an emotional game, and we had a difference of opinion," Carlisle said after the game. "There was an exchange, and then in my mind, it was over."

After the timeout, Carlisle went with backup guard Devin Harris, who ended the night with 14 points and five assists. Harris and reserve guard J.J. Barea led the Mavericks, who were trailing by nine points when Rondo was benched, to a victory.

"We won the game, but stuff like that is never good," Dirk Nowitzki said. "It's unfortunate, but it does happen. It's how the team responds, it's how the team moves forward, how both sides move forward and make the best out of it."

Center Tyson Chandler added, "I think it will make them have a conversation and move on. The main thing is we stay together in the locker room and understand we're all trying to win and we're all in this together, from every player and every coach and everything else. Those two, they're two grown men. They can handle their problems with each other. As far as this team goes, everybody in this locker room has to be willing to win and wanting to win. And I know everybody here does want to win."

The argument between Rondo and Carlisle was a long-time coming. Team sources revealed to ESPNDallas.com that there has been some friction regarding play-calling responsibilities. Carlisle reportedly has been frustrated with Rondo's decisions to make unnecessarily difficult passes that often result in turnovers. Rondo has a reputation of being difficult to coach.
When asked whether or not Rondo will start in Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks, Carlisle simply replied, "That's what we brought him here for."

Rondo did not talk to reporters after the game. He played 17:45 minutes and recorded four points, four assists, three fouls and two turnovers.

The Mavericks (39-20) are ranked fifth in the Western Conference.