NBA suspends Heat’s Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic after skirmish during Raptors game
The NBA suspended two Heat players on Sunday night, in the wake of a skirmish involving one Heat player and one Toronto Raptors player during Saturday’s game at FTX Arena.
Heat starting power forward Caleb Martin was suspended one game without pay for instigating an on-court altercation by taunting Raptors center Christian Koloko and then tackling him into the spectator stands.
Koloko was fined $15,000 for grabbing Martin during the altercation but was not suspended
Meanwhile, Heat forward Nikola Jovic has also been suspended one game without pay for leaving the bench area and entering the altercation.
Martin and Jovic will each sit out the Heat’s game against the Raptors on Monday night at FTX Arena.
The incident, for which Martin and Koloko were each assessed one technical foul and ejected, began when the players became entangled while battling for rebounding position. It occurred with 7:46 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat’s 112-109 win over the Raptors at FTX Arena on Oct. 22.
“I just think that there’s a lot plays that were kind of leading up to it. It was a chippy game,” Martin said as he stood in front of his locker following Saturday’s victory. “That’s typically how the game goes with Toronto. It’s a chippy back and forth. But ultimately I just think that emotions were high and the game was a close game. It was back and forth. Overall, I got to be more professional in the way I handle those type of situations.”
Saturday’s incident began when Martin and Koloko were battling for a rebound. Koloko fell to the court and Martin was called for a loose ball foul.
As Koloko was falling back, he seemed to inadvertently swipe Martin in the back of the head. Martin, who was visibly angry, stood over Koloko as he sat on the ground.
Koloko then stood up and wrapped his arms around Martin before Martin slammed Koloko into the first row of seats behind the basket just a few feet away from the Heat’s bench.
Players and coaches from both teams sprinted over in an effort to break the fight up, and Martin and Koloko were ultimately separated.
The officials reviewed the incident and called technical fouls on Martin and Koloko, and both players were ejected. Martin, who is the Heat’s new starting power forward, recorded eight points, five rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes before his ejection on Saturday.
“I feel like everybody saw what happened,” Koloko said after Saturday’s game. “I got fouled and I fell and I don’t know what he was trying to do. I just stood up for myself and I get ejected. So that’s what happened.”
Koloko made clear that he was “confused” about what made Martin angry.
“When he fouled me, he was basically grabbing me and pushing me,” Koloko said. “I don’t know ... I’m confused. I don’t know why. I don’t even know him, so I don’t know what was going on in his head.
“He just stood there looking at me like crazy. I just stood up. I don’t know.”
Heat assistant coaches Malik Allen and Caron Butler were both quick to respond to help de-escalate the situation and prevent Heat players from coming off the bench to enter the scrum. NBA rules call for a suspension of at least one game if players not participating in the game leave the immediate vicinity of their bench during an altercation.
The Heat led by 22 points at the time of the skirmish, but the Raptors rallied from there to cut the deficit to three points with 13.7 seconds to play. Ultimately, Miami was able to hang on for its first win of the season.
“I thought Malik did a great job of keeping everybody on the bench,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s just one of those emotional things that happened and thankfully it didn’t escalate. I don’t think it affected necessarily the tenor or the emotions after that. It was an isolated incident between two players. Again, I wish I didn’t happen that way with Caleb. But it did and then we had to manage that. They had some energy and the swing momentum after that. It could have looked a lot worse, but we were able to respond and make some big plays going down the stretch.”
ADJUSTING TO SCOUTING REPORTS
Opponents are very aware that Max Strus and Duncan Robinson are two of the Heat’s best two three-point shooters.
So, the scouting report is clear: Get Strus and Robinson off the three-point line.
But Strus and Robinson have worked to make their own adjustments, adding to their offensive packages inside the three-point line with floaters and different ways to finish around the basket. That skill work has paid off, with Strus already 7 of 9 from inside the restricted area and 1 of 2 on non-rim paint shots and Robinson converting on 2 of 3 non-rim paint shots through the Heat’s first three games.
“Max and Duncan and a few of our players have really worked pretty diligently against the scouting reports,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve been pretty consistent about getting those guys off the line and they worked all summer long, all offseason to be able to put the ball on the floor and make some plays. You saw some of the floaters, some of the finishes. But also the playmaking, which is important.”
INJURY UPDATE
Victor Oladipo (knee) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle) were ruled out for Monday’s game against the Raptors. Because of their injuries, neither has played in a game since the preseason.
Those two injuries - combined with the Martin and Jovic suspensions - mean the Heat will have 12 available players on Monday: the 10 players on standard contracts and, if the Heat chooses, wings Jamal Cain and Dru Smith, who are on two-way contracts.
Cain and Smith can be active for as many as 50 games this season; both were inactive for the Heat’s first three games.
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 10:17 AM.
