With just under two minutes left in the Miami Heat’s 136-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, we saw one of the more lively altercations of the 2025-26 NBA Season.
Moments after Heat wing Myron Gardner bumped into Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr., a scuffle broke out during the ensuing Heat possession, with Pippen Jr. approaching Gardner, evidently leading to them throwing each other to the ground.
After the game, Pippen told Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan Skolnick that he thought a line was crossed.
“I thought it was kind of a cheap shot,” Pippen said. “He kind of hit me from (behind), when I couldn’t see him. So I thought it was a soft move.”
The Heat recently converted Gardner, a rookie, despite playing two previous seasons in the G-League, to a standard contract. One of his redeeming qualities was his energy and ability to light a spark in a limited role whenever he’s on the floor.
Well, it’s safe to say multiple sparks were lit in this instance.
Both players were promptly ejected from the game. Gardner had five points, three rebounds and two assists in 6:17. Meanwhile, Pippen had 18 points and six dimes on 7-of-15 shooting in 21 minutes.
“[Myron Gardner]’s greatest strength is his unbridled intensity, effort and energy,” Spoelstra said after the game. “His heart is in a great place. And he’s wired like us competitively. So you add that type of intensity to his 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 3-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.”
We’ll see if there will be any disciplinary action between Gardner and Pippen. Neither have history of getting into fights, but Gardner has been an irritant (complimentary) over his brief NBA career to date.
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Excerpt on tonight’s game by Brady Hawk:
With Jakucionis possibly stepping back into the starting lineup tonight, it’s a really positive sign that his trust levels have grown to this point this early on. He’s been under control, strong defensively, and the offense has been rather consistent.
Per Basketball Reference, Jose Alvarado is the first and only reserve in NBA history to record 20+ assists, 12+ steals, and 12+ three-pointers in his first five games with a franchise
.Theres a reason why the knicks are good now .
He just signed a contract, so he can afford the fine.
Otherwise, nothing wrong to provoke opposite players. But it has to be the right player and the right time.
Just for the fun of it, I’d like to mention that in the biggest tank battle since the gulf war, Precious scored 22 points on 10/15 shooting and 12 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block in the Kings v Grizzlies game. 😆
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I still don’t understand why Riley didn’t go after a legitimate back PF/C type before the trade deadline to take the burden off of Bam and Ware.
If Johnson could control his excitement and focus on being a good PF he could be of help down the stretch.
Jovic is the only other big but he needs G League playing time and therapy. Talk about a fish out of water. He’s better suited for Miami’s former 1/2 court game, not run & gun.
I think Spo doesn’t want to play bigs. He’s got Ware, but only gives him limited minutes. He’s never tried Goldin in a game, not once really. There were many players available, so the logic says they didn’t want to go after one. In the previous seasons Spo would start Caleb Martin and Butler at the PF. It’s not a coincidence, it’s not they couldn’t find a big back then and now.
I agree. Small ball works fine until you go up against big, physical teams. I guess they’ll figure it all out. That’s why they get paid the big bucks. God help the team if Bam or Ware gets injured along the way. Absolutely no Plan B.
Riley and Spo are stuck in a different era. It’s difficult for them to change. Look how long it took for them to figure out to build the team through the draft. They gave away second round picks like they were candy.
small ball works when u have a playoff quitter
Spo can’t develop talent that’s why this team has been mediocre since the big 3 split and why they lost every finals they’ve been in since then as well
i feel sorry for ware.hes being spostrasized.if dumbot would have played bam ware 35 mins together from game1 and given goldin keshad their backup minutes this team right now would be alot better.but pats mandate or spos dumness said no.a certain person here also said no to that.wares not ready bs his skillset is being nullified by his lack of pt.i feel sorry for the guy if u put ware on charl atl they would smoke us.with bam here will we ever see who kelel is
Not sure who you’re talking about. I was among many who said LAST YEAR WHEN HE WAS A ROOKIE that he wasn’t going to start on day 1 and that was correct. He was totally lost early on out there as many rookies are at the start of their NBA career. I also said it should never have taken 40 games to integrate him into the rotation. That was 2024.
I also remember a certain person who said we could beat anybody in the east. The result was the most humiliating defeat in the history of the franchise and missing an opportunity that might have resulted in Cooper Flagg in a Heat uniform.
the only emotion i ever saw from him was at asg.dudes got cali swag it was so cool to see.hes hardly played here jovic is such a stud.u would think these bafoons after bam was punked by jokic in the finals they would have gotten as many bigs as possible but no
this paul reed is the best backup big in nba.pat did u ever hear of him
Reed would have fit in nicely. Even Yabusele could have helped.
anybody not named jovic would have helped.what a bad decision to keep on playing him.how many bad games does it take for a coach to realize the guy cant play.a coaches main duty is to play the right guys .
tom landry was the og of dressy clothes.every girl crazy bout sharped dressed coach
Riley was walking Armani ad. Landy wore that weird hat.
landry was 20 years before riley,the og he had a tie and jacket also from what i recollect.riley was a great dresser worse dressed coach all time the goat bb
Pat Riley urges the NBA coaches to start wearing suits again: “They want to see someone that looks like a leader” WTFF!
I googled “what percentage of NBA coaches wear suits to games” and this came back:
Virtually 0% of NBA coaches now wear suits to games, as an overwhelming majority— estimated at over 85% to 90% — voted to continue wearing casual, team-issued apparel like quarter-zips and polos. This shift away from formal attire began during the 2020 NBA bubble and has remained the standard due to comfort, practicality, and cost, making formal suits a rarity on the sidelines.
Well, I can understand him to a degree. Years back, when my company stopped requiring dress slacks and nice shirts, it felt like the professionalism dipped. It was more appearance than reality, but it was noticeable. And some people came in like they were going to the beach or a park. However, the current dress code for coaches seems fine to me.
I agree. They wear team issued clothing.
Maybe the fine will serve as an attitude adjustment for Gardner. Dude just started making money and now he has to start giving it up. That was a “low IQ” move he made. I’m sure it hasn’t gone unnoticed by FO and Spo. Physical play is one thing. Dirty play is another.
It was a dumb play for sure
niko gardner
I didn’t watch the game, but apparently there was a play before Gardner bumped Pippen from behind where Pippen pulled down Gardner from behind and the refs didn’t call anything. So it was three straight plays of escalating behavior with no intervention from refs. Not absolving the players, but refs gotta have better situational awareness in that instance and nip it in the bud. Otherwise, things are going to escalate no matter what level of basketball is being played.
💯
Per the League:
Gardner initiated the incident by bumping Pippen from behind, causing Pippen to fall to the floor. Pippen further escalated the altercation by forcefully shoving Gardner in response. Both players were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.
And both were fined $35k. Because both were wrong.
i believe u said pippen was flopping somebody did here to lazy to read all the comments
Yes, it looked a bit exaggerated to me. So? I said both were wrong. That is correct. Try reading MIAtrix comment above.
Gardner should’ve faced PipJr. and not get him from the back. one of those unwritten rule when you want to retaliate.
If the trend continues in the east, its the #6 slot that would be scrambling for in the playoffs to avoid play-in by Philly, Magic, Heat. unless an unforeseen fall happens to Toronto. only 20+ games remaining. but one thing’s for sure if Heat makes the playoffs again, Bos and NY fans don’t want to face them in first rd.
He heard there was an opening on the NBA all dirty team when Brooks going down.
with Brooks going down.
theres a certain person here who doesnt feel that way
There’s a certain person here who should read comments more carefully
u said i believe read 2015 posts no i have eyes like u and him.i make my own observations its called the eye test,
Like with Kyle Guy, Jaquez, or ‘we can beat any team in the east’ (last season) eye tests. Okay, got it.