Defense attorneys for NBA players Marcus and Markieff Morris on Tuesday grilled a man who claims the twins assaulted him in January 2015, asking questions about his pursuit of money from the brothers after the incident.

The second day of court on Tuesday centered around testimony from Erik Hood, a hometown friend of the twins who had a falling out with them years ago. He began his testimony Monday.

Both of the twins’ attorneys questioned Hood about details from that night and looked for discrepancies in his interviews with the Phoenix Police Department. 

The Morris brothers, along with former University of Southern California football safety Gerald Bowman, each are charged with two counts of aggravated assault. The charges stem from a Jan. 24, 2015, beating of Hood outside a youth basketball tournament in Phoenix.

The Morris brothers played for the Phoenix Suns at the time. The Boston Celtics acquired Marcus Morris from the Detroit Pistons this summer, and Markieff Morris now is a power forward for the Washington Wizards.

Two other defendants in the case, Julius Kane and Christopher Melendez, pleaded guilty last week to two counts of aggravated assault. They will be sentenced on Oct. 16.

Hood told Phoenix police he was at the basketball tournament in central Phoenix when he spotted the Morris twins and the three other men.

Hood said he was approached by Kane as he was leaving the gym, and that a different person then struck him from behind and pushed him forward. He tried to run after getting back to his feet, but a group of men caught up to him, he said. Hood said he was punched and kicked in the head while he was held down.

Prosecutor: ‘An orchestrated attack’

Hood suffered a broken nose, as well as several cuts and abrasions, prosecutor Daniel Fisher told the jury on Monday. Fisher said the defendants “aided” each other during the assault, and jurors should consider the crime as a group effort as well as individual acts.

“This was an orchestrated attack by five men, including these three defendants,” Fisher said. “Each of them (served) a role.”

Hood was the first witness called to the stand on Monday afternoon. In sometimes tearful testimony, Hood described how all five of the defendants were present while he was being beaten outside of the gym.

He said he remembered Kane holding him down and Marcus Morris kicking him. When asked by Fisher where Marcus Morris kicked him, Hood replied, “Where didn’t he kick me?”

On Tuesday, James Belanger, Markieff Morris’ attorney, asked Hood to mark where Markieff was located during the time of the assault. 

Hood said he doesn’t recall Markieff assaulting him, only that he was “around the fray.”

Belanger then asked about Hood’s pursuit of a financial settlement with the brothers.

“I told people I wanted justice,” said Hood on Tuesday. “Whether through a court of law or through some monetary gain.”

Belanger and Marcus Morris’ attorney, Timothy Eckstein, showed text messages delivered from Hood to people he knew about a settlement between him and the twins.

One of the texts was from Hood’s mentor, mentioning that he could set him up with someone who could request a million-dollar settlement from the twins.

Another series of texts between Hood and current Brooklyn Nets and former University of Arizona forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were sent after Marcus and Markieff Morris were arrested. Hood texted Hollis-Jefferson, mentioning that he expected the Morrises to settle quickly. 

A civil case is pending between Hood and the Morris twins.

A falling out in 2011

On Monday, Hood said he first met the twins when they were in high school, growing up in Philadelphia. Hood, 39, said he used to mentor the twins, and the three remained close when the Morrises were recruited to play college basketball at the University of Kansas.

Hood said he had a falling out with the twins in 2011 based on a text message that he said was misinterpreted by Kane.

According to a police report, Hood reportedly told authorities that the text in question said he had always been there for the Morris twins’ mother, Thomasine Morris. Hood believed Kane inferred the statement to mean that their relationship had become sexual.

Defense attorneys on Monday had offered a different take on the evening, as well as Hood’s initial relationship with the twins.

While Eckstein didn’t deny that Hood was assaulted, he placed the blame solely on Kane and Melendez, the two defendants who pleaded guilty.

Eckstein said Hood, who had known the Morrises since growing up in north Philadelphia, was pointing the finger at his clients in hopes for a payout. He alleged that Hood, who works as a talent scout, had only befriended the two to try to facilitate a recruitment to the NBA.

But their relationship soured, Eckstein said, and Hood saw this attack as his second shot at the twins.

“The lottery ticket has come back,” Eckstein said Monday, speculating on Hood’s thoughts. “And I have it.”

The twins could face probation or prison time if convicted. Even absent incarceration, the felony conviction would automatically trigger a minimum 10-game suspension for the Morrises, per the NBA’s collective-bargaining agreement.

The trial is expected to last 10 days.

READ MORE:

NBA’s Morris twins’ attorneys: Brothers played no role in assault

Opening statements Monday in ex-Suns players’ assault case

Court proceedings continued for Markieff, Marcus Morris

Morris’ twins case slowed by cellphone issue

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