Miami's Jimmy Butler and New Orleans' Naji Marshall have each been suspended for one game by the NBA following an on-court altercation during the Heat-Pelicans game on Friday night.
Additionally, Miami's Thomas Bryant and New Orleans' Jose Alvarado received three-game suspensions for fighting and leaving the bench area. Miami's Nikola Jovic was also suspended for one game for leaving the bench area and entering the altercation.
Butler expressed his disagreement with the ejection, stating that he did not believe it was warranted. His suspension will result in a loss of nearly $260,000 in base salary, while the other four players will face a combined cost of about $115,000 due to their suspensions.
The altercation began after a foul by Miami's Kevin Love on New Orleans' Zion Williamson under the Pelicans' basket. This led to a physical altercation between Butler and Marshall, followed by a fight between Alvarado and Bryant.
As a result of the incident, Alvarado, Bryant, Butler, and Marshall were all given technical fouls and ejected from the game, which the Heat ultimately won 106-95.
Alvarado will miss the Pelicans' upcoming games against Chicago, New York, and Indiana, while Marshall will be absent for the game against the Bulls. Butler and Jovic will sit out Miami's game against Sacramento, and Bryant will miss the Heat's games against Portland and Denver.
Bryant notably played for the Denver Nuggets last season when they defeated the Heat in the NBA Finals.
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