NBA hands Ibaka, Johnson one game to cool off
A propensity for physical confrontation has earned Raptors forward Serge Ibaka another one-game suspension.
The 28-year-old Ibaka will sit out Toronto’s game Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers for his part in a dust-up with Miami’s James Johnson in the third quarter of the Heat’s 90-89 win at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night.
Johnson, the ex-Raptor, was also suspended for one game, missing Wednesday’s outing in Indianapolis. The league also fined Raptor DeMar DeRozan $25,000 U.S. and Miami’s Goran Dragic $10,000 for a short post-game brouhaha “during which DeRozan attempted to forcefully shove Dragic with an open hand.”
The suspensions and fines were announced late Wednesday by NBA senior director of basketball communications Jim LaBumbard for executive vice-president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe.
The discipline marks the second time in less than a month that Ibaka has been suspended. The Raptors sat him down for a game because he was involved in a physical altercation with an unnamed member of the team’s staff following a game in Oklahoma City on Dec. 27. Ibaka was also suspended for a game last season for trying to slug Chicago’s Robin Lopez at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors may now face the Cavaliers in a key Eastern Conference matchup without two of their most veteran starters. Ibaka is likely to be replaced by Pascal Siakam, and Toronto could also be without injured point guard Kyle Lowry, who is being examined daily to see if he’s over a bruised tailbone and back spasms suffered Monday night in Brooklyn. Third-year guard Delon Wright would most likely replace Lowry, as he did in Tuesday’s loss to Miami.
The Raptors have a 21⁄ 2- game lead on the Cavaliers for second place in the Eastern Conference, three games in arrears of the Boston Celtics heading into Wednesday night.
The Cavaliers are expected to be at full strength. Point guard Isaiah Thomas was fined $20,000, but not suspended after the league reviewed his ejection from a game Monday for striking Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins above the shoulders.