Scotty Pippen Jr was forced to leave the court on a sour note against the Miami Heat after he was involved in a late brawl with Myron Gardner in the Grizzlies’ 136-120 loss.
With just under two minutes, Pippen set up to take a shot at a three-pointer when Gardner ran into his back and forced him to fall to the ground.
Gardner wasted no time running to the other end of the court but his movements did not go unnoticed by Pippen, who went to confront his rival in the corner.
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That confrontation quickly turned into a brawl between the two players that spilled over the sidelines, while teammates and officials attempted to rush in and separate them.
“I thought it was a cheap shot,” Pippen told Five Reasons Sports post-game.
“He hit me when I didn’t see him. I just thought he needed a hug up the other end, that’s kind of what happened.
“I was just trying to show some love,” he added, laughing.
Scotty Pippen Jr reacts after a fight. Getty
Both Pippen and Gardner were then ejected from the game.
Pippen conceded he is “not expecting” any fines or suspensions for his actions.
“It was just a hug. I don’t think it was too crazy,” he said.
The Heat, who improved to 17-11 at home, got 14 points and a game-high-tying six assists from Tyler Herro, who played just his second game since missing more than one month due to three fractured ribs.
Bam Adebayo, second on the Heat in total points this season, was quiet. He had 13 points, five under his average. He had just six points through three quarters.
Miami was without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (illness). Forward Nikola Jovic (back) was also out.
Ty Jerome drives to the basket. NBAE via Getty Images
Memphis was led by GG Jackson, who scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jaylen Wells added 25 points, but the Grizzlies have now lost 11 of their last 14 games. The Grizzlies are also 9-18 on the road.
Grizzlies rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr, who led the University of Florida to a national title last year, made his first NBA start. He scored nine points and had a game-high-tying six assists before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Taylor Hendricks, another Memphis player with Florida ties, made his first start of the season and scored four points in 24 minutes. He is from Fort Lauderdale and played his college ball at UCF.
The Grizzlies, who have used 25 players this season – only the Bulls have used more -were without injured stars Ja Morant (elbow) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger).
Andrew Wiggins drives to the basket. NBAE via Getty Images
Miami, thanks in part to Andrew Wiggins’ 12 points, led 39-33 after the first quarter. Jackson had 11 points for Memphis, and both teams shot over 54 per cent from the floor.
Adebayo went scoreless in the first quarter, taking zero shots.
Memphis cut its deficit slightly, trailing 73-68 at half time as both teams again shot better than 54 per cent.
In the third, Miami stretched its advantage to 112-94. Memphis finally cooled off in the third, shooting just 40.9 per cent as compared to 60.9 per cent for Miami.
The Heat cruised in the fourth quarter, although brief skirmish broke out with 1:55 left.
For the game, Miami had advantages in rebounds (57-35) and paint points (70-54).
– With Alyssa Bone