Advertisement

Chicago Bulls' Robin Lopez, Toronto Raptors' Serge Ibaka suspended 1 game

By The Sports Xchange
Chicago Bulls' Robin Lopez defends New York Knicks Joacim Noah under the basket in the first half at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 12, 2017. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Chicago Bulls' Robin Lopez defends New York Knicks Joacim Noah under the basket in the first half at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 12, 2017. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez and Toronto forward Serge Ibaka each have been suspended one game for their roles in a fight during the Raptors' 122-120 overtime victory on Tuesday.

Toronto assistant Jamaal Magloire was also fined $15,000 for pushing Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic during the altercation, the NBA announced on Wednesday.

Advertisement

Lopez will sit out the Bulls' game versus the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday while Ibaka will miss the Raptors' encounter at the Miami Heat on Thursday.

Tempers flared with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter after Ibaka grabbed the ball and threw an elbow near the back of Lopez after a made 3-pointer, causing the latter to swipe at the ball. Ibaka appeared to shove Lopez, who responded by misfiring on an attempted punch. Ibaka retaliated by taking a swing at the head of Lopez.

"This game gets very competitive, obviously. It gets heated at times. That happened last night," Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We'll deal with it and move on, and we'll be happy to have (Lopez) in the lineup on Friday."

Advertisement

Several other players and assistant coaches joined the fray before the situation settled down. Both players were assessed technical fouls and were ejected for fighting.

Latest Headlines