NBA suspends Ibaka 3 games for fight
CLEVELAND Long gone are the days of NBA basket brawls, but Serge Ibaka’s track record suggests he wouldn’t have been out of place in those more physical eras.
Ibaka, the Toronto Raptors big man, got fed up with Cleveland Cavaliers forward Marquese Chriss Monday during a 126-101 loss and ended up in his third fight in three seasons with the Raptors.
On Tuesday, the NBA suspended Ibaka three games without pay.
The NBA said Ibaka’s suspension was based on instigating the fight, throwing a punch at Chriss and his prior history of fighting during NBA games. He will forfeit US$447,000 in salary.
Chriss received a one-game suspension for throwing a punch.
After the two got tangled up late in the third quarter, Ibaka hit the deck. Chriss stood over him and said something Ibaka strongly disagreed with.
The veteran centre got up and grabbed Chriss by the neck and shoved him up against the basket stanchion before just missing with a massive right-handed punch toward Chriss’ face.
The players were then separated and ejected.
“I just saw some stuff building up. Some frustration,” Raptors shooting guard Danny Green said.
“Not just with him but throughout the game with a lot of guys. Some things not going our way. And I saw them get tangled up earlier in the game and I guess it kind of escalated.
“An altercation happened very fast.”
Raptors centre Marc Gasol said “it’s an emotional game and sometimes emotions get the best of you. I don’t know what happened exactly on the play, so it’s hard to comment, but for Serge to react like that, something had to be said that was not right. Contact sports, and when you say the wrong things, emotions build up and sometimes it explodes.”
Ibaka declined to comment, but confirmed post-game through the team that Chriss said something to set him off.