DALLAS — It was late in the second quarter of an October game, and J.J. Barea had just made another opponent mad.



This time, the victim was Jeff Teague, who had just rounded a screen from his Minnesota Timberwolves teammate. Teague reached the free throw line, found that Barea was firmly planted on his left hip, and with the ball attached to his right hand, extended his left forearm into Barea’s chest. Teague does this often, and effectively, just to give himself breathing room. But unlike most defenders, Barea absorbed the contact and tumbled over backward. As the referee behind the play blew his whistle, Teague spun around, pleading his case with futility. Then he directed his ire towards Barea himself.



“You always do that!” he beseeched the grinning Dallas guard.



“If I hold you, and you push off, you can’t be pushing off,” Barea said later. “I told him it’s part of the game and then he calmed down...