INTREPID

Suns practice gets chippy day before season opener

Oct 30, 2012, 9:10 PM | Updated: 10:13 pm

October 30, 2012: Morris, Scola exchange pleasantries

After more than two months together, including a week-long training camp in San Diego and eight preseason games, the Suns are ready to move on to the real thing.

They’re ready for games to matter. They’re ready for games to count. They’re ready for the regular season, which tips off Wednesday against Golden State.

And apparently, not a moment too soon.

Things became heated between Markieff Morris and Luis Scola during a scrimmage near the end of practice Tuesday.

Morris took exception to Scola’s defense after receiving the basketball out on the wing. Morris shoved the ball into Scola’s chest, which did not sit well with the five-year NBA veteran.

Some not-so-nice words were exchanged but nothing more as teammates quickly ran in between the two power forwards, who moments earlier had been battling for position on the low post.

“It’s two of the toughest guys we got on our team so a little bit of confrontation is no big deal,” head coach Alvin Gentry said afterwords. “We play hard and we compete like crazy so I don’t see anything wrong with it.

“It’s not like they don’t like each other or anything,” he continued. “They’ve got a ton of respect for each other and they play hard. They play against each other every day in practice. That’s it. I mean no big deal.”

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Suns practice gets chippy day before season opener