Houston Rockets fire social media manager

The Houston Rockets have fired their head of social media after his inappropriate tweet aimed at in-state rivals the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week.

Chad Shanks tweeted an emoji of a pistol next to a horse's head and text suggesting that the Mavs will succumb to an inevitable end in their first-round playoff series.

"Sometimes you can go too far," Shanks said on Twitter.

"I will no longer run Houston Rockets but am grateful to the organization that let me develop an online voice."

The Mavericks responded to the tweet after the game, while an apology was also issued from the official Rockets account.