Miami, FL
Heat’s Butler, Jovic, Bryant suspended by NBA for Friday altercation in New Orleans
SACRAMENTO — The NBA on Sunday issued suspensions to the Heat’s Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Thomas Bryant for their roles in the team’s melee with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Smoothie King Center.
Butler and Jovic each were suspended for one game, with Bryant suspended for three.
All three will miss Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center, with Bryant also to miss the additional two games remaining on this four-game trip, on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers and on Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets.
The rulings resulted from what initially began as a benign foul from Heat forward Kevin Love against Pelicans forward Zion Williamson early in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 106-95 victory.
In the immediate wake of that incident that escalated into several skirmishes, Butler and Bryant and the Pelicans’ Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado all were assessed technical fouls and ejected.
The NBA’s security staff then conducted interviews and reviewed the video before Sunday’s sanctions were handed down.
In the case of Butler, who wound up putting Pelicans forward Naji Marshall in a chokehold, the sanction announced by Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president, head of basketball operations, was “for instigating and engaging in an on-court altercation.” Marshall received the same sanction of a one-game suspension without pay.
Bryant and Alvarado, per the NBA, were suspended, “for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation and fighting.”
Jovic received his one-game suspension, “for leaving the bench area and entering an on-court altercation.”
A key component of the NBA ruling was the video regarding those who left the bench, whether directly involved in the fracas or otherwise.
Per the NBA rule book: “During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be subject to suspension, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $50,000.”
Heat staff and security immediately attempted to control the bench as the fracas spilled over to an area near the middle of the scorers’ table at center court.
While other Heat players became entangled, the league’s ruling indicated that they had not significantly strayed from the bench.
Friday’s game in New Orleans had marked the return of Butler, who had missed the previous three games due to a death in the family. He had led the Heat in scoring at the time of his ejection. Monday’s absence will be Butler’s 19th of the season. Players who miss more than 17 are ineligible for postseason awards. Butler was second-team All-NBA last season.
Jovic has started the past four games, after having been held out of six of the previous seven. It is the second time Jovic has received such NBA sanction, also suspended one game last season for leaving the bench during a skirmish between Heat forward Caleb Martin and Toronto Raptors center Christian Koloko on Oct. 22, 2022.
Bryant was ejected without seeing action Friday, having been held the past eight games. His last action remains Jan. 31 against the Washington Wizards.
The suspensions for the Heat come with guards Terry Rozier (knee) and Josh Richardson (shoulder) dealing with injuries sustained prior to the Heat’s eight-day All-Star break that ended Friday, and with guard Tyler Herro dealing with a knee injury that sidelined him for the finish of Friday’s game.
The lost wages from the suspensions can be appealed, but not the suspensions themselves.
The New Orleans players cited were suspended from Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
This story will be updated.
An investigation is underway at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex after the sheriff’s office said a man was shot by his girlfriend after a “heated dispute” early Wednesday morning.
Few details have been released, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place at an apartment complex located off Northwest 7th Avenue.
The sheriff’s office said that a man became involved in a “heated dispute” with his girlfriend, and she shot him in the right arm.
He was rushed to a hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in critical condition.
The woman is in custody.
The identities of those who were involved have not yet been released.
No other information was available.
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, YES Network (Brooklyn)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM (Brooklyn)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
C Nic Claxton
F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
Trevor Keels: Available – G League
Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
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