Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors was on the bench when a fight erupted between Serge Ibaka and Marquese Chriss on Monday night in Cleveland. He knew that the two players were competing at a very high level, which is often the cause when punches are thrown during a sporting event.
Per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, Kawhi Leonard was asked about the Ibaka-Chriss fight in the third quarter of the Raptors' 126-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Leonard admitted that he didn't see how the incident developed. All he knew was that emotions got the best of the two men.
“I guess they got tangled up. Can’t really make a comment or how or why they got into a fistfight, but I guess both guys were competing out there. I don’t know. Words were exchanged. I really didn’t get to see it until the final five seconds.”
Below is the clip posted by Michael Lee of The Athletic. Though it appeared to be a harmless play at first, things suddenly escalated as soon as Ibaka got up from the floor and snagged Chriss's neck. Through a spokesperson, Ibaka revealed that Chriss said something to him while he was on the floor. This triggered the Congolese-Spanish baller. Ibaka then retaliated.
And let the record show…Serge Ibaka ain't nothing to mess with. Watch your step, kid. You best protect your neck pic.twitter.com/DQXEfcLs3X
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) March 12, 2019
Ibaka and Chriss were quickly ejected by the referees. Though the NBA hasn't handed out respective sanctions just yet, we can expect that the two will be suspended for multiple games since punches were thrown.
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