Butler, Marshall among 5 players suspended after Heat-Pelicans fight

The NBA announced on Sunday that Miami’s Jimmy Butler and New Orleans’ Naji Marshall have each been suspended for one game due to their involvement in an on-court fight during Friday night’s Heat-Pelicans game.

Miami’s Thomas Bryant and New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado received three-game suspensions for fighting and leaving the bench area, while Miami’s Nikola Jovic received a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area and entering the altercation, according to the league.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra expressed his disagreement with Butler’s suspension, stating, “It felt like Jimmy shouldn’t have gotten a game on that. It was really just kind of tangling and a little bit of pushing. I don’t think that deserves another game because he ended up having to miss the fourth quarter (Friday). But it is what it is. Nobody wants to see it escalate to that point.”

brawl at the heat/pelicans game

butler, bryant, alvarado, and marshall were all ejected
pic.twitter.com/20irYNtDzS

— michael doleac (@3MWD__) February 24, 2024

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Butler, who did not believe he should have been ejected, will lose nearly $260,000 in base salary due to his suspension. The combined cost of the suspensions for the other four players will be about $115,000.

The altercation started when Miami’s Kevin Love fouled New Orleans’ Zion Williamson under the Pelicans’ basket. Butler and Marshall engaged in a physical altercation after the foul, leading to a fight between Alvarado and Bryant.

Alvarado, Bryant, Butler, and Marshall were given technical fouls and ejected from the game, which the Heat won 106-95. Alvarado will miss games against Chicago, New York, and Indiana, while Marshall will miss Sunday’s game against the Bulls.

Butler and Jovic will be absent when Miami visits Sacramento on Monday, and Bryant will miss that game along with matchups on Tuesday at Portland and Thursday at Denver. Bryant played for the Nuggets last season when they defeated the Heat in the NBA Finals.