Sports Pundit
Basketball

NBA: Nikola Jovic and Caleb Martin Suspended

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Miami Heat players Nikola Jovic and Caleb Martin have been suspended for one game by the NBA following their roles in the on-court altercation against the Toronto Raptors player Christian Koloko on Saturday.

Martin had tacked Koloko into the spectator stands after the two battled for rebounding position. Rookie Jovic then left the bench and entered the altercation.

The suspensions will be served on Monday in another match against the Raptors.

The altercation started after Martin fouled Koloko while they were fighting for a rebounding position. Koloko ended up on the ground but bounced back up quickly. Tempers flared and in quick succession, Martin had driven Koloko into the seats.

No fans were seated in the seats affected by the altercation but there were some fans nearby who had some contact with the fighting players.

Following the altercation, both Martin and Koloko received technical fouls. They were also ejected from the game. Prior to the incident, Martin had scored eight points and five rebounds. Koloko, on the other hand, scored one point. As a rookie, Jokic is yet to appear in a game for the Heat.

Koloko was also fined US$15,000 by the NBA for grabbing Martin. Martin has since apologized to Koloko for the incident.

“I don’t think that Christian should have gotten thrown out or ejected anyways. He did what he had to do,” Martin said Monday.

He also added: “I felt bad that it happened,” Martin said.

“I was embarrassed Saturday night; I was embarrassed the next morning about how I handled things because I pride myself on being more professional than that.”

“Anybody who plays sports understands that emotions get high, especially at the highest level. Sometimes it boils over. It’s not the first incident like that in basketball history. But those are things I try to make sure I avoid.”

The Heat player has also said that he has accepted the NBA sanction.