Matt Barnes Suspended? Derek Fisher, Gloria Govan Fight Response: 'We Were Friends'

NBA star, Matt Barnes confirms his altercation with New York Knicks head coach, Derek Fisher.

Thursday, ESPN caught up with the Memphis Grizzlies forward who says he was aware of his former friend's and Lakers teammate being at his ex-wife's home by his 6-year-old twin boys.

Barnes says he received a text from his sons that raised some concerns around 10:00 pm (past his children's bedtime), which led to a text and an awkward FaceTime, "I'm like, first of all, why are you still up? It's like 10 o'clock at night," Barnes told the reporter, "So I text back, 'I love you and I miss you too.' Then I FaceTimed him. I'm just like, 'Hey, what's up buddy?'"

He says his one twin didn't seem to upbeat and was worried something was wrong, "Now, Carter is like the rambunctious one. He's always jumping off the walls. And when I saw his face, he was just sitting there, and I knew something was wrong. I was like, 'What's wrong, Carter?' and he shook his head, 'No.' Then he lays his head down on the couch, puts a pillow in front of his face and says, 'Mommy's friend Derek is here.'

"This wasn't a phone call. We were on FaceTime. I could see him and the look on his face," he said, defending his brash decision to speed home to his children.

Reports alleged that the athlete got into a huge altercation, which he refused to comment on since it was under investigation by the NBA, however, he denies that he traveled 95- miles to attack Fisher, "I can't believe people think I was some maniac driving 95 miles and listening to Tupac to go beat somebody up," Barnes said. "No. I live 15 minutes away, and I was going over to check on my kids because they seemed uncomfortable. That was my main reason for going over there."

"We were close. We were friends," Barnes said. "Some things have happened to change that. It is what it is."