Montrezl Harrell Told Ex-Teammate Paul George He Would 'Knock Him the F*ck Out' During 2020 NBA Playoffs

Montrezl Harrell is opening up about the Los Angeles Clippers blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

During that year, the Clippers entered the NBA Bubble with championship aspirations, having acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George the previous summer. The two-headed monster was anchored by a stellar cast of role players, including Harrell, who that season was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

And yet, the Clippers were eliminated in the second round after blowing a 3-1 lead to the up-and-coming Nuggets.

In a new essay for the Players' Tribune, Harrell sheds light on the tension surrounding the Clippers' infamous collapse. While the team lost its momemtum down the stretch in their second-round loss, Harrell threatened to throw hands with George for not holding his weight on the defensive end.

"I told P right then and there, in front of coaches and everybody, 'I will knock you the fuck out, bro. You’re trippin’. You was wrong, bro. You’re WRONG,'" Harrell shared. "I can look back on that now and realize I went too far in the heat of the moment. I realize this is a business and you can’t talk like that to the star player. But when you’re going through grief, you only see what’s right in front of you."

Harrell added, "And it was just all bad from there. We lost in the second round to Denver, in seven games. The next summer, the Clippers sent me a text message saying something like, “Thank you for everything you did for us … but, we’re going to go in a different direction.”