Following the fight between Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Heat guard Myron Gardner over the weekend, the NBA world was waiting for the league to hand down any punishment, possibly in the form of being fined.
Sure enough, it was announced on Monday that both Scotty Pippen Jr. and Myron Gardner had been fined $35,000 each for their roles in the fight between the Grizzlies and Heat, as per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
The incident occurred late in the third quarter of the Heat’s win against the Grizzlies on Saturday. The game was well in hand when Pippen came down court and attempted a 3-point shot. The shot missed but Gardner came up behind him and crashed into his back, sending Pippen sprawling to the floor.
On the way back up court, Pippen sought Gardner out and rushed at him, causing both players to careen into the sidelines. Teammates, coaches and officials rushed over and eventually separated the pair.
For Gardner, a rookie with the Heat, this isn’t his first back and forth with an opposing player. Back in November, Gardner was caught on film trash-talking with Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson. In the aftermath of that incident, Heat assistant coach brought Gardner over to Thompson after the game to apologize for his actions.
In the NBA’s release about the fines, the league deemed it was Gardner who initiated the fight with his actions in shoving Pippen from behind. Both players were ultimately ejected from the game, and afterward, Pippen said he felt like it was a cheap shot.
