Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has spoken about the fighting incident involving Serge Ibaka.
Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, Nurse was asked about his thoughts on Ibaka throwing a punch to Marquese Chriss of the Cleveland Cavaliers in their game on Monday.
“I mean, listen, it's always going to be concerning. We certainly don't want that in the game. It's going to cost him a game, probably. We don't want that. We don't want to lose 1 of our guys for incidents like that.”
With a second remaining in the third quarter, Chriss jockeyed for position with hopes of stopping a full-court pass directed to Ibaka. He was able to do so by locking his arms around Ibaka who subsequently fell to the floor. What seemed like a harmless play quickly escalated when Ibaka got up and grabbed Chriss by the neck. The two then exchanged blows before being separated by players and officials.
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
Both Marquese Chriss and Serge Ibaka were ejected. Given that the two threw punches, expect the NBA to hand out suspensions.
Such sanctions will heavily affect the Raptors who are about to head to the playoffs. They are currently second in the East with a 48-20 record, 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks. Losing Ibaka will be a huge blow to the team as they vie for the top spot in the East.
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