Fiery Jimmy Butler Throws Down in Brawl with Naji Marshall After Strangling Incident

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler got into a heated fight with the New Orleans Pelicans after Naji Marshall grabbed his neck following a foul on Zion Williamson.

It all started when Kevin Love fouled Williamson, causing the Pelicans big man to fall down hard. Marshall quickly came to aid his teammate, slightly pushing Love in the process. Butler then came to the defense of his teammate and pushed Marshall as well, leading to their heated exchange.

Marshall grabbed Butler’s neck, further escalating the situation. Both players went at each other and had to be held back by the players and referees on the court. Their teammates, Miami’s Thomas Bryant and New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado, soon got involved as well in the heat of the moment.

While it didn’t lead to things being physical, it was still an ugly look for both teams.

As a result, Jimmy Butler–who just returned from an extended three-game absence–as well as Naji Marshall, Thomas Bryant and Jose Alvarado have all been ejected from the contest.

It remains to be seen if there will be more punishments for both sides, though it’s possible the NBA will further review the tape in order to see what kind of additional discipline they can enforce on the players involved. Sure enough, the league might want to set an example so that they can prevent such incidents from happening again.

However, it’s definitely worth taking a look at the officiating as well. As the commentators mentioned, the referees decision not to call fouls on obvious hits early on has led to things getting out of hand in the contest.