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Thomas Bryant and Jose Alvarado Fight: Fan’s Attack Causes Safety Concerns, Highlights 3x All-Star

Published 02/23/2024, 11:56 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Things got dramatic when the New Orleans Pelicans hosted the Miami Heat tonight. And it wasn’t just Miami winning 106-95 over the home team. Chaos descended on the court during the fourth quarter, where players from both teams got into a scuffle. Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado and Miami’s Thomas Bryant were among the players ejected.

Gilbert Arenas, rarely a bystander in these cases, chimed in. “It might be time to protect the players from fans,” he wrote on X accompanying one of the many fan-taken videos of the brawl.

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Hell broke loose after Kevin Love hard-fouled Zion Williamson. It escalated to Jimmy Butler and Naji Marshall throwing fists. Bryant and Alvarado also got into fisticuffs behind them. Butler and Marshall were also ejected. Reports claim that the players are facing suspensions and fines.

In fan-taken videos, it appears that some disgruntled fans threw stuff at the players. A fan who was throwing objects at the players was ejected. That’s the part Arenas takes exception to. It’s been a wild few weeks for the NBA.

No Chill Gil goes after NBA brawlers

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After Draymond Green returned from suspension and locked in a sarcasm-filled feud with Jusuf Nurkic, Isaiah Stewart was suspended for punching Drew Eubanks. Arenas is already not Stewart’s fan since his on-court altercation with LeBron James two years ago.

This time, he said on Gil’s Arena, NBA players have to ‘pretend’ to fight and not really fight. He threw some sarcasm at Stewart by saying, “Wait till your teammates got around you before you acted tough.” Apparently, that would save him money since Stewart is suspended for three games without pay.

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He even threw some shade at Eubanks that he would never get caught in such a fix. “We didn’t have our run-ins goddammit. I ran away…” he said with emphasis on the away. “My feet worked well. I’m not Eubanks, baby.”  Well, he didn’t always retreat from trouble. Agent Zero’s celebrated career with the Wizards was marred by one locker-room incident that led to him getting suspended for the 2010 season.

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Arenas will obviously have a bigger reaction to the latest fight on Gil’s Arena or No Chill Gil. Apart from the punishments the ejected players are facing, they will have to face No Chill Gil’s commentary. Do you think Arenas is going to be kind to the players?

Shaquille O’Neal Disagrees With Punishment for Isaiah Stewart’s Violent Outburst Given by Adam Silver

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Written by:

Caroline John

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Caroline John is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from a reputed university. With 8 years of experience in content writing and after judiciously covering the life of Shaquille O’Neal, she even earned an exclusive interview with the CEO of Shaq’s Big Chicken franchise, Josh Halpern.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth