The Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers nearly got into a fight on Monday night after their game. The whole thing was a fiasco, and we don’t know the extent of that incident, but apparently it was just an amouse-bouche for Tuesday’s showdown between Arron Afflalo and Nemanja Bjelica.
During the matchup between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves in Florida, the two wound up actually fighting during a play in the second quarter.
As both teams went to contest a rebound on a Jamal Crawford jumper, Bjelica appeared to rush directly at Afflalo as the smaller player tried to pass block.
Elbows and forearms were involved in the rebound attempt, and that’s what caused some actual swinging.
Via Twitter:
WHOA! Bjelica and Afflalo fight! pic.twitter.com/KS0tWTuhGl
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) January 17, 2018
Look at this swing from Afflalo, he wasn't messing around pic.twitter.com/V65wlhCdt0
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 17, 2018
Bjelica: "I don’t want to feel like victim here. That’s part of the game. He took a swing at me. I was just trying to protect myself & to help him, to calm him down, because he was wild. I don’t know what's wrong with that guy. If you attack me I have protect myself & my family.
— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) January 17, 2018
Afflalo’s big haymaker didn’t appear to make contact, and Bjelica sort of got the better of him by getting him in a headlock, ending the fight.
Both were ejected. No doubt Adam Silver and the league office will have their work cut out for them trying to parse this fight and whatever happened between Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza, James Harden, Blake Griffin, and Austin Rivers.
Afflalo should get a couple of games for that big swing, and for being the main instigator. Bjelica got a good run at him for the rebound, but the first arms going up above the shoulders was all Afflalo.
It will probably also help Bjelica that once he had Afflalo in a headlock he put his other arm up, seemingly indicating he wanted to get out of the situation but didn’t want to let Afflalo go for fear of the fight continuing.
Players are heated lately, and there has been some discussion about whether new officiating styles by younger referees has led to players getting antsy with each other. We’ve heard that some of the newer refs aren’t talking with players as much, and perhaps that hasn’t let guys blow off steam throughout the course of the game and they’re taking it out on each other.
This is all very armchair psychology of me to speculate, but no doubt the conversation between the NBA, NBPA, and NBRA during the All-Star break regarding the officiating will be massively important.
