Nene, Dewayne Dedmon ejected from Rockets-Spurs Game 1

With theHouston Rockets blowing out the San Antonio Spurs126-99 in Game 1 of their second-round series, tensions boiled over at the end of the third quarter.

San Antonio's Dewayne Dedmon went face-to-face with James Harden, and the two exchanged words. Houston center Nene Hilario came to his teammate's defense and grabbed the neck area of Dedmon in an attempt to push him away.

Officials quickly intervened before the situation escalated further.

Nene was ejected for his actions, and Dedmon and Harden each received a technical.

"Just talking greasy, talking crazy," Harden said of his run-in with Dedmon. "So I was standing up for my teammates, and that's what it was."

After the game, Nene tweeted that the video of the incident "speaks for itself" and that he was just trying to protect his teammate.

In the fourth quarter, Dedmon received a second technical foul and an automatic ejection after he exchanged words with Patrick Beverley and argued with officials during a free throw.

The visiting Rockets were leading 96-67 at the time of the incident, with Nene scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds in 16 minutes.