In the Eastern Conference, there are many good teams and the Miami Heat are one of them. The 2020 NBA Finalists faced off against the Portland Trail Blazers recently and registered their 24th victory of the season. Following the sensational win, the Heat have now improved their record to 24-15 and are fourth in the East.
While the win over the Blazers was certainly great, there was an incident during the game which captured the attention of most was a heated exchange between Jusuf Nurkic and Tyler Herro. The two players got into an altercation during the fourth quarter when the game was all but decided.
Herro was setting up a screen for his teammate when he ran into Nurkic. The Heat guard was knocked down and lost his cool. He then proceeded to shove Nurkic from behind his back. It did nothing but make Nurkic angry as he then proceeded to throw a punch at Herro.
While the other players on the court broke down the fight. The refs didn’t let it slide as both players were ejected following the brawl.
Jusuf Nurkic lowers a shoulder on the screen of Tyler Herro.
Herro takes takes exception and shoves Nurkic.
Nukic goes after Herro.
Fight ensues.
Both players have been ejected.@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/XAhTFBbODW
— HEAT on FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN_Heat) January 6, 2022
Considering the Heat were already winning the game, it made no sense for Herro to lose his calm. He did nothing but cause commotion during a game. On the other hand, one cannot blame Nurkic for his reaction.
Most NBA players would have reacted to this situation in a similar way. This is not the first time that fans have seen a Miami Heat player get into an unnecessary fight. A few weeks ago, Markieff Morris elbowed Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
The incident ended the same way, with a Miami player getting a befitting reply from a big man. The only difference is that Jokic shoved Morris from behind while Nurkic unleased a punch on Herro.
Both Morris and Jokic were fined after their altercation and fans should expect the same result for Herro and Nurkic.
It seems like the 2021-22 NBA season is full of heated exchanges between players. We cannot forget the one fight that took place between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart. That fight was a lot bloodier than this one, though.
At the end of the day, fans might love seeing players getting into a scuffle, but it does more harm than good to their teams and their reputations.
