The tough presence Marcus Morris vowed to bring to the New York Knicks this season showed up in their first preseason game.
Morris was ejected from Monday night's preseason-opening win against the host Washington Wizards when, while being guarded with the ball on the perimeter by Justin Anderson, he swung his elbows a couple times and then bopped the Washington forward on the forehead with the ball.
Morris and Anderson immediately had words, with players from both teams stepping in to intervene. Morris was handed a flagrant foul 2 and automatic ejection, and he could be facing a one-game suspension from the league.
After the game, a 104-99 New York win, Morris said there were "some things said" by Anderson that led to the exchange and noted that he "overreacted a little bit." But Morris also reiterated that the Knicks, whom he signed a one-year, $15 million deal with over the summer, won't back down to anyone this season.
"Am I concerned [about a suspension]? ... I would be concerned if it was regular season. I wouldn't want to miss any regular-season games. If that was regular season I wouldn't have done that. My team needs me. I've got to be smart, set a better example.
"But like I said at the beginning, we're not taking any s---. So it is what it is."
Morris finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of his Knicks debut.
Wizards star Bradley Beal, who was previously teammates with Marcus' twin brother Markieff, said he wasn't surprised by what happened.
"You can't be surprised with nothing that the twins do," Beal told reporters. "They play hard and they compete, and they're going to talk their fair share of trash, too. Whatever happened is between him and JA. .... But you can expect that from the twins. Crazy in the preseason, though."