Following the Friday night on-court altercation that started as a tussle between Magic center Mo Bamba and Timberwolves wing Austin Rivers, the NBA has levied suspensions against both players.
Bamba will be sidelined for four games for his role in the incident, while Rivers will sit out three games.
The NBA also suspended Magic guard Jalen Suggs one game for aggressively grabbing Rivers around the neck and pushing him to the floor. Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels was fined $20,000 for running into the scrum and pushing Bamba in the back.
The scuffle started Friday night in front of the Orlando bench when Rivers missed a three. After the miss, Bamba stood up and appeared to throw a punch at Rivers. The altercation spilled toward the center of the court as more players got involved.
In total, five players were ejected, including Rivers, McDaniels and Taurean Prince of the Timberwolves and Bamba and Suggs of the Magic.
After the tempers flared and the players were ejected, Rivers told reporters that he didn’t like the way Bamba was talking to him near the bench.
Despite this, Rivers said that Suggs grabbing him by the neck is what “really affected him” and that he hoped Bamba was fine and that he had no “ill will against him.”
