William Rainer
It was only a few moments into the fourth quarter of the Heats vs Pelicans NBA game in New Orleans, when star players were at each other’s throats- literally.
Videos by Rare
As reported by the New York Post, the fight broke out on Friday night at the New Orleans Smoothie King Center. The skirmish centered around Naji Marshall and Jimmy Butler, eventually both teams got involved as well.
To set the stage, the video posted by Hoop Central showed Zion Williamson diving for the ball after it was fumbled by a Heats player. As he scrapped for the ball, he won the fight, grabbing the ball and aimed towards the goal. As he lunged forward for the shot, he began to slip.
Wild fighting breaks out at Heats VS Pelicans NBA game
HEAT VS. PELICANS. 👀
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 24, 2024
pic.twitter.com/9IcDpodViG
Unsure footing was not Zion’s only problem however. Kevin Love was right behind them and appeared to be hugging him from behind. You can hear the commentator say: “and he’s held up by Kevin Love.” Zion Williamson then fell to the ground flat on his back.
To the surprise of all the Pelicans players, the referee did not call a foul on Kevin Love. In fact, Naji Marshall was so taken aback by the missed call that he began to attack Jimmy Butler. The Friday night fight was on. Hands began to be thrown, Jimmy Butler began to fight back, and then the rest of the crowd got involved. Roughly 20 or so players and coaches had to get in the mix in order to break up the fight.
Afterwards Zion Williamson told AP that: “I wasn’t tripping about K-Love because he actually protected me on my fall,” Williamson said following the game, “All of a sudden I see Butler kind of lunging toward Naji, so I’m trying to get there like, ‘Yo, relax, like what’s going on?'”
Whatever the case may be, it appears that the Pelicans brawl with the Heat did not intimidate the Heat enough. The final score was 106 Heat to 95 Pelicans.
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