MUST SEE: Fight Breaks Out In Magic-Timberwolves Game On Friday Night
After an altercation broke out in Thursday night's game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers, one that resulted in Dillon Brooks receiving a one-game suspension, yet another fight broke out in the NBA on Friday night.
The Orlando Magic were on the road facing the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday when Timberwolves' guard Austin Rivers got into a fight with Magic center Mo Bamba, who was on the team's bench at the time of the altercation.
With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Rivers was standing in front and presumably talking to Orlando's bench while a play was happening on the opposite side of the floor.
Bamba obviously took exception to something Rivers had said, as Orlando's big man immediately got up off the bench and swung at the veteran guard, prompting both players to throw punches and drag one another down onto the floor before the teams came together, where more pushing, shoving and tackling took place.
Mo Bamba and Austin Rivers were both ejected from the game, as were three other players.
Jalen Suggs was the only other player from the Magic to be ejected, as Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels were both ejected for Minnesota.
When you look at the replay of what happened, Suggs was grabbing and pushing at the top of the pile, as Prince continued to escalate the issue by defending his teammate. It is hard to tell what exactly McDaniels did to be ejected from this game.
Both Bamba and Rivers will absolutely be suspended for at least one game by the league and it would not come as a shock if they were suspended longer given that they were both throwing punches at one another.
"This isn’t like a cool moment for me," Rivers spoke after the game. "I feel embarrassed. I’m the oldest on the team. I consider myself the leader of the team, or one of the leaders of the team. It was a weird game, and I don’t think that helped at all."
This was the second time the Magic and Timberwolves played this season, meaning that they will not see one another for the rest of the 2022-23 season.
Further punishments for both teams, as mentioned before, is expected to be handed down by the NBA on Saturday evening.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
