Back in June, between Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals, former All-Star DeMarcus Cousins made national news when he was ejected from a game in the Puerto Rico league after an altercation with fans. The scuffle, captured in cellphone videos that quickly went viral , landed Cousins a suspension for the remainder of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional season.

But another longtime NBA player was standing just a few feet away as the chaos unfolded: 16-year veteran and onetime No. 6 pick Danilo Gallinari.

And, while sitting at his kitchen table in South Florida last week, Gallinari -- with a sheepish grin -- admitted something that few watching those videos would notice:

He started it.

"I hit him in his eye twice. We were scrambling to get the [rebound], and he fell down and the referee didn

See Full Page