Mo Bamba, Austin Rivers suspended for on-court altercation.
Today, Joe Dumars, the Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations, announced that Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba has been suspended for four games without pay and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers for three games without pay due to their involvement in an on-court altercation.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been suspended one game without pay for his aggressive actions which escalated the brawl by grabbing Austin Rivers around the neck and pulling him to the floor. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels will receive a fine of $20,000 for his part in the altercation which involved running into the scrum and pushing Bamba in the back.
The incident occurred with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter of the Magic’s 127-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mo Bamba and Austin Rivers exchanged punches while Suggs and McDaniels did not attempt to be peacemakers, resulting in an intensification of the situation. Afterwards, Mo Bamba attempted to continue fighting with Austin Rivers hostilely while outside of both teams’ locker rooms; he even aggressively pushed a security representative during this time.
Both players also continued their conflict on social media shortly after the game concluded. Mo Bamba will commence serving his ban on Sunday February 5th – when Orlando visits Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center – while Suggs’ suspension begins at the same time, when Minnesota hosts Denver Nuggets at Target Center, where Austin Rivers will also start serving his three-game suspension.