Two Heat players suspended, Raptors' Koloko fined for dust-up

Two Heat players suspended, Raptors' Koloko fined for Toronto-Miami dust-up

Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA has doled out the punishment for a messy Saturday night in Miami between the hometown Heat and visiting Toronto Raptors.

Last night, a scrum ensued between Miami’s Caleb Martin and Raptors’ rookie Christian Koloko, with the incident seemingly coming out of nowhere during a routine offseason possession for Toronto.

Caleb Martin and Christian Koloko got into it during Raptors-Heat. pic.twitter.com/c5YbdanKpr

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 23, 2022

Martin aggressively approached Koloko, who was on the ground, before both players became entangled with one another and ended up into the first few rows of the crowd before being surrounded by players on both teams.

Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, a pair of Heat players: Martin and Nikola Jovic have been suspended one game for their roles in Saturday night’s altercation — Martin serving as the instigator, while Jovic came off the bench to get involved. Meanwhile, Koloko was fined $15,000.

Both Koloko and Martin were ejected from the game as a result of the incident, which Miami ended up winning by a 112-109 score in regulation.

Miami's Nikola Jovic has also been suspended one game for leaving the bench area during the altercation. The NBA fined Toronto's rookie center Christian Koloko for $15,000 for grabbing Martin during the altercation. https://t.co/wdVjUYlIlz

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 24, 2022

Koloko was playing in just his third NBA game on Saturday.

“I was as confused as you,” Koloko said to the media last night. “I don’t know. I have no idea… He was looking at me aggressively, so I just stood up for myself.”

Due to a new NBA schedule quirk that sees teams play twice against each in the same city on back-to-back games, the Raptors and the Heat are set to do it again tomorrow in Florida, when they face off at 7:30 pm ET.

“It was a chippy game,” Martin told the media on Saturday. “That’s typically how the game goes with Toronto. It’s chippy, back and forth. But ultimately, I just think that emotions were high, and the game was a close game, back and forth. Overall, I gotta be more professional in the way I handle those type of situations.”

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