South East Melbourne coach Josh King has teed off on legendary rival Brian Goorjian over an expletive-laden rant at Owen Foxwell in a nasty aftermath to the Sydney Kings' fiery 114-88 road win over the Phoenix.
MVP candidate Kendric Davis stood tall with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting, despite close attention from SEM guard Foxwell in an explosive contest at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
The result lifted Sydney (21-9) above the Phoenix (21-10) into second spot on the ladder, with just two rounds left in the regular season.
Davis was involved in multiple scuffles with opponents, including one with Nathan Sobey, which ignited several spot-fires and led to both players being handed technical fouls.
Goorjian was also given a technical foul after a verbal exchange with Foxwell, in which broadcast microphones picked up the Kings coach saying "f*** you" three times and calling Foxwell a "bitch".
"It's really surprising, a guy that's done everything he's done in his career to think it's OK to tell an opposing player 'F you' three times," King told reporters post-game.
"That's very disappointing and it's not right.
"Hey, it is what it is. Maybe he thinks that's OK.
"I just know that I've never seen that before, and I've coached around the world too.
"As much as I don't like wearing the microphone during the game, I'm glad they picked that up because that's uncalled for.
"It's completely uncalled for and if you think it is called for, then shame on you."
Goorjian insisted Foxwell provoked his response with an initial comment, which was not picked up on the broadcast, but refused to discuss the specifics of what was said.
The 72-year-old - a six-time NBL championship-winning coach - was unapologetic over his role in the incident.
"If something's said to you, I'm going to say something back," Goorjian said.
"If they want to give me a technical, they can give me a technical.
"He tells me what he said, I'm coming right back at him. I didn't think there was a place for that.
"I wasn't talking to the referee. He didn't do anything when he went at me, and I don't just go at a player.
"I went there and he said something and I went back at him."
The three technical fouls came during an incident-filled second term, in which tempers flared when John Brown won an offensive foul from Xavier Cooks with a theatrical tumble.
Cooks raised an arm, but replays showed there was no contact before Brown grabbed his face and dropped to the floor.
Davis tangled with Foxwell off the ball before his clash with Sobey, and Sydney led 55-54 at halftime.
The Kings dominated after the main break, with Cooks (20 points) and Jaylin Galloway (14) also outstanding alongside Davis.
"We knew what was at stake. We're finally healthy and we made a statement today," Davis told ESPN after the game.
SEM, who had 23 offensive rebounds to nine, scored just 34 points in a second half to forget, including 11 in the final period, as their long-range shooting went cold.
Brown (15 points), Sobey (15) and Wes Iwundu (14) top-scored for a disappointing Phoenix side, who slipped to third on the ladder.
"We've got to get better from this," King said.
"Maybe we've been reading our own little headlines the last couple of weeks.
"We got a big dose of humble pie today."
