The NBA has suspended Houston Rockets forwards Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green for two games for their role in Monday night's locker room fiasco after a 113-102 loss to the L.A. Clippers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The backcourt duo of Chris Paul and James Harden, who were also involved in the incident, will not face any sanctions; neither will Clippers forward Blake Griffin.
The league has been reviewing this incident since it first took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the latest of a long slate of games throughout the much-celebrated holiday.
Earlier reports singled out Ariza as the “aggressor” in the incident, while pointing out the likes of DeAndre Jordan, Harden and Paul acted as “peacemakers” and tried to de-escalate the situation at hand, per Wojnarowski.
Tempers flared throughout the game in what transformed from an issue with the officials to a stiff verbal spat between the two teams, resulting in a technical foul galore toward the conclusion of the Western Conference tilt.
The Rockets are expecting Harden back on Thursday after a seven-game absence after sustaining a hamstring injury on New Year's Eve.
Monday morning featured a similar event with Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry and Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons allegedly planning to meet in the hallway to duke it out, though it never came to fruition.
Tuesday featured an actual mix-up between the Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica, as the former swung several times at his opponent before the latter caught him in a headlock to stop the flurry. Both players were consequently ejected from the game.
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