<\/p>\n
Myron Gardner #15 of the Miami Heat celebrates a three point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Kaseya Center on January 17, 2026 in Miami.<\/p>\n
Carmen Mandato<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
There were no suspensions issued, but Miami Heat forward Myron Gardner and Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. were both fined by the NBA for their roles in an on-court altercation on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The NBA announced Monday that Gardner and Pippen were fined $35,000 apiece.<\/p>\n
The incident involving Gardner and Pippen occurred late in the Heat\u2019s home win over the Grizzlies on Saturday night with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter, as Pippen charged at Gardner and grabbed him by the throat before both players wrestled their way down to the court. Their teammates immediately rushed over, and Pippen and Gardner were both ejected from the game after the altercation was broken up.<\/p>\n
But the scuffle seemed to be sparked by something that happened on the previous possession, as Gardner ran into Pippen from behind after Pippen put up a three-pointer. That force knocked Pippen to the court, and he quickly got up and charged at Gardner on the other end of the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was kind of a cheap shot,\u201d Pippen said of that Gardner shove from behind. \u201cHe kind of hit me from when I didn\u2019t see him. So I thought it was a soft move.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scotty Pippen Jr. #1 of the Memphis Grizzlies reacts after a fight against the Miami Heat during the fourth quarter of the game at Kaseya Center on February 21, 2026 in Miami. Tomas Diniz Santos Getty Images <\/p>\n
But Gardner said Monday that \u201cI was really just trying to get on defense, trying to run. Ran into him by accident, for real.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was also some tussling between the two players even before that, with Pippen pulling Gardner down to the court while trying to pursue a rebound on the possession immediately before Gardner\u2019s shove on Pippen\u2019s three-point shot.<\/p>\n
The NBA said in its press release when announcing the fines, \u201cWith 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Heat\u2019s 136-120 victory over the Grizzlies on Feb. 21 at Kaseya Center, Gardner initiated the incident by bumping Pippen from behind, causing Pippen to fall to the floor. Pippen further escalated the altercation by forcefully shoving Gardner in response. Both players were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, man. I feel really light, for sure,\u201d Gardner, 24, said of being fined $35,000. \u201cBut it\u2019s good. It\u2019s behind me now. So there\u2019s nothing I can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gardner, who just had his two-way contract with the Heat converted to a standard contract last week, added that he was \u201cfor sure surprised\u201d that he was fined for the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an easy target,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Monday\u2019s practice when asked about Gardner\u2019s league-issued fine. \u201cHe\u2019s a young player. It\u2019s easy for the league to make a point on this because it went into the stands. But we disagree with it. Pippen is the one that pushed it into the stands, and Myron didn\u2019t really retaliate. Once he was on the ground, he was laughing. So if it was somebody else, I don\u2019t think it would have been $35,000 fine. But we\u2019ll move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gardner, an undrafted rookie, has become a consistent part of the Heat\u2019s rotation recently due to his relentless energy and effort. He has played in 22 of the Heat\u2019s last 27 games after playing in just six of the Heat\u2019s first 31 games this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good teaching moment for Myron because now he\u2019ll be on the radar with officiating,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve wanted to clean up his technique anyway, which he\u2019s been getting much better with. Being able to defend without fouling and doing things with more discipline. And then we\u2019ll move on from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
RILEY\u2019S MOMENT<\/p>\n
With the Los Angeles Lakers unveiling Pat Riley\u2019s statue on Sunday, Spoelstra watched the ceremony closely from Miami and came away impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was brilliant. It was moving,\u201d Spoelstra said after Monday\u2019s practice. \u201cI\u2019ve heard so many of Pat\u2019s speeches before. I think this one was probably the best one I\u2019ve ever heard him say. What a special celebration for him, the family, the Laker organization. All of it was so intentional. The way the statue presented itself, him between Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], calling a play with Magic handling to get the ball to Kareem.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Pat\u2019s brilliance, part of his brilliance, when he speaks in a setting like that, you feel like he\u2019s talking directly to you. And I bet every single player or person sitting down felt like his message was directly to him. I think people that were watching it felt like he was speaking to them. Everybody in the Miami Heat organization felt like he was speaking to us. That\u2019s just an incredible gift he has to move people, to motivate people, to message in a way where he was just showing great gratitude for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spoelstra took over for Riley as the Heat\u2019s head coach in 2008. Riley, who is currently the Heat\u2019s president, is now in his 31st season with the Heat after joining the organization in 1995.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me personally, it just reminded me that I don\u2019t ever take it for granted, being around greatness for the last 30 years,\u201d Spoelstra continued on Monday. \u201cI have so many notes that actually were not in the house, that were in storage of when I was a video coordinator and a young assistant. I used to just take notes of every one of his speeches to the team. Because they were as moving in that time, in a half hour, 45 minutes, with a thoughtful, intentional message as it was yesterday in front of everybody. So well-deserved. I got choked up a few times watching it. Just awesome to witness, and it was important for our team to see that. Because when I mentioned that his brilliance is he\u2019s talking to everybody, I felt like he was also talking to this team. I wanted them to hear some of the real poignant messages about what it is to be significant. And how you can be remembered to be a part of something bigger than yourself. All those messages, it was beautiful. I\u2019ve heard so many of them, but that was the best I\u2019ve heard all of them at one time.\u201d<\/p>\n
INJURY REPORT<\/p>\n
Davion Mitchell (illness) and Nikola Jovic (lower back tightness) did not take part in the Heat\u2019s practice on Monday, and there status for Tuesday\u2019s matchup against the Bucks in Milwaukee (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) remains up in the air.<\/p>\n
Mitchell and Jovic also missed Saturday\u2019s victory over the Grizzlies because of their ailments.<\/p>\n
Jovic, 22, visited a doctor on Monday for his back issue. Jovic also dealt with a back injury that kept him out for a large chunk of his rookie season in 2022-23, but it\u2019s unclear if this current back problem is connected to the one that affected him as a rookie.<\/p>\n
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