Heat-Pelicans brawl results in 4 ejections, including Miami star Jimmy Butler

NEW ORLEANS — A fourth-quarter altercation between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat on Friday night led to four players, including Heat star Jimmy Butler, being ejected from the game.

Miami’s Butler and Thomas Bryant were both ejected, along with Pelicans guards Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall.

Things are getting chippy between the Heat and Pelicans…

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— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) February 24, 2024

The altercation began with the Heat’s Kevin Love fouling Pelicans star Zion Williamson on an attempted layup that led to Williamson crashing to the floor.

Both teams came together after Williamson hit the floor and started going back and forth verbally. Then, Marshall and Butler got entangled and had to be separated after attempting to go after each other multiple times. Marshall appeared to choke Butler at one point before the players were pulled apart.

Naji Marshall choked Jimmy 😬 pic.twitter.com/Bo3NCItnpF

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While the two teams were being separated, Bryant and Alvarado appeared to get into a physical altercation in front of the scorers table that enflamed the two sides once again. Alvarado and Bryant were both on the bench during the initial altercation.

NBA referee Curtis Blair said Love was only given a common foul because his actions “did not meet the criteria for a Flagrant Foul 1 — there was no wind up, impact or follow-through.”

Williamson said after the game he “wasn’t tripping about K Love. He actually protected me on my fall.”

Despite losing Butler, their leading scorer, in the dust-up, the Heat walked away with a 106-95 victory in their first game post-All-Star break. Both teams also lost crucial contributors during the course of the game due to injury.

“We’ll beat (New Orleans) the next time, too,” Butler said after the game. “When we get them on our home court, it’s gonna be a different game. I hope they’re healthy. It’s gonna be the same outcome.”

Pelicans guard CJ McCollum injured his left ankle in the first half and sat out the entire second half after scoring two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Heat guard Tyler Herro appeared to injure his left knee late in the fourth quarter before limping to the locker room and sitting out the final minutes of the game.

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(Photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)