Suspended are two Miami Heat players.
Following the brawl that occurred during Saturday night’s game between the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat, the NBA has confirmed that Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jovic will be serving suspensions.
The Miami Heat won their first game of the season on Saturday night, defeating the Toronto Raptors 112-109.
While the Raptors dropped to 1-2 on the season, the Heat improved to 1-2.
In the third quarter, there was a significant altercation between Christian Koloko and Caleb Martin.
The NBA made the announcement of Martin’s suspension on Sunday night.
NBA Communication: “Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been suspended one game without pay for instigating an on-court altercation by taunting Toronto Raptors Christian Koloko and then tackling him into the spectator stands, and Koloko has been fined $15,000 for grabbing Martin during the altercation, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.”
In addition, Heat player Nikola Jovic received a one-game, non-pay suspension for leaving the bench area and getting involved in the confrontation. Jimmy Butler and Koloko were each given one technical penalty and were expelled for the incident, which started when the players became tangled up in their battle for rebounding position. The event happened with 7:46 left in the third quarter of the Heat’s Oct. 22 FTX Arena victory against the Raptors, 112-109.
These are issues that the NBA needs to address seriously, particularly when players are in or close to the seating areas.
Something like that puts the athletes’ and supporters’ safety in jeopardy.
The fact that the situation did not get worse after the initial tackle suggests that this punishment is appropriate.
On Monday night in Florida, the Heat and Raptors will play again, but neither Jimmy Butler nor Jovic will be in the game.
