Grizzlies’ Pippen, Heat’s Gardner Ejected After Scuffle

Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Heat forward Myron Gardner were ejected from Saturday’s game in Miami after a brief scuffle between the two players late in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s victory, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

The incident appeared to start when the two were jockeying for rebounding position on a Simone Fontecchio three-point attempt (Twitter video link). Gardner gave Pippen a shoulder check and gained inside position near the rim, and after Gardner jumped up for the offensive rebound, Pippen pulled him to the ground.

Memphis had a transition opportunity with Gardner trailing the play, and Pippen made an open three. He briefly backpedaled after the shot and Gardner bumped him from behind, knocking Pippen to the ground.

Pippen got up and jogged to opposite corner of the court where Gardner was standing. He pointed at Gardner and pushed him, and the two fell to the court near the baseline. Several players and coaches quickly ran over, and Pippen and Gardner were eventually separated. Both players were ejected for the altercation.

“I thought it was kind of a cheap shot,” Pippen said. “He kind of hit me from when I didn’t see him. So I thought it was a soft move.”

Pippen said he didn’t think he deserved a suspension for his role in the scuffle, according to Chiang.

“I don’t think any punches or anything were thrown,” he said. “I think it was, like I said, a hug. I don’t think it was too crazy. I got ejected. I think it should be left at that, but we’ll see.”

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra showed support for Gardner, a rookie who was recently promoted to a three-year standard contract.

“His greatest strength is this unbridled intensity and effort and energy, and his heart is in a great place, and he’s wired like us competitively,” Spoelstra said, per Chiang. “So you add that type of intensity to this competitive will that will boil over at times. I don’t want to take away from that competitiveness.

“We love Myron. I don’t know what happened on the three-point shot. I just saw Pippen fall. I haven’t seen the replay on that one. I just saw the play after that, and that looked like it was 95 percent Pippen. But let’s just see what it is. I love Myron regardless.”