In the opening minute of the fourth quarter during Friday night's game between the Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans, Kevin Love dished out a hard foul on Zion Williamson underneath the Pelicans basket, resulting in what started out as a scuffle and ultimately materialized into a short-lived brawl that led to the ejections of Jimmy Butler, Naji Marshall, Jose Alvarado and Thomas Bryant.

After the game — Miami wound up holding off New Orleans, winning by the final score of 106-95 — Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would sit at the podium and make a point that not only perfectly summed up the altercation but also shines a light on the hypocrisy of some longtime NBA fans.

Some of y'all wanted this, right? All the folks who talk about how the NBA is too buddy-buddy nowadays and gleefully remember how back in their day teams played defense and hated each other and continue to glorify teams like the Bad Boys Pistons who pushed the boundaries of physicality on a regular basis, they're the ones who should be happy about an altercation like this one, aren't they?

Yet when the rubber meets the road, they're the ones who also say that instances like this are bad for basketball. Guy, you can't have it both ways.

Should the players have thrown punches? No, that's never a good look. But does the additional spice that comes when tempers are boiling over make the game just a little more tasty? I'd argue that it does, and that's why what Erik Spoelstra said was spot on.

Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured in the altercation, and thanks to a Victor Wembanyama 5×5 game and another Nikola Jokic triple-double and tonight's high-profile showdown between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, there's plenty for the NBA world to remain fixated on instead of the one minute of ugliness in a game between the Heat and Pelicans.