Jimmy Butler’s suspension may have come as a surprise to some, but the league has apparently found that the Miami Heat star partially instigated a fight with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Butler and four other players were suspended for their roles in the altercation, which occurred in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game. Butler and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall have been suspended for one game.
Miami’s Thomas Bryant and New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado were suspended for three games for leaving their respective benches and fighting. Nikola Jovic of the Heat was given a one-game suspension for leaving the bench.
The altercation followed a play in which Pelicans star Zion Williamson stole the ball from Butler and Miami’s Kevin Love grabbed Williamson on his way to the basket. Williamson fell to the ground, but later defended Love’s actions on the play.
Marshall, however, fought back and finally tackled Butler, then grabbed him by the neck and appeared to choke him. Butler, Bryant, Marshall and Alvarado were ejected and missed the finish of Miami’s 106-95 win.
Spoelstra said the ejection should have been punishment enough for Butler.
“It seems to me that Jimmy shouldn’t have won the game because of that,” the coach said. “In reality, it was just a scramble and a little shoving. I don’t think it deserves another game because he had to miss the fourth quarter (Friday) at the end. But it is what it is. Nobody wants it to get to this point.”
Not everyone believed the fight was legitimate, as former NBA player Brandon Jennings labelled it “fake” on social media.
Butler and Jovic will serve their suspensions on Monday when the Heat play at the Sacramento Kings. Bryant will miss that game and upcoming games against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Butler will pay almost USD 260 000 for the suspension. Bryant will forfeit more than $52,000 and Jovic more than $12,500.
Miami has won seven of its last nine games, raising its record to 31-25. The Fever are seventh in the Eastern Conference.
The brawl was one of several similar events in the NBA recently. In the last game, the Golden State Warriors and the Charlotte Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves clashed at the end of the game. The clash between the Nets and the Timberwolves led Hall of Fame member Isiah Thomas to question the “unwritten rule” of shooting the ball when the game is already decided.