Watch: Jusuf Nurkic throws a punch at Tyler Herro after the latter shoves him in the back
Jusuf Nurkic and Tyler Herro now have beef between them. The pair were ejected from the Portland Trail Blazers' home game versus the Miami Heat, which Herro and co. went on to win 115-109 on Wednesday night.
The episode between Nurkic and Herro took place with less than a minute left in the final quarter. With Miami leading 112-102, Nurkic set a screen for teammate Norman Powell.
Herro, unaware of the screen set by Nurkic, crashed into his large frame and fell to the floor. The moment Herro got up, he pushed Nurkic in the back which the Bosnian native did not take kindly to. He immediately turned around and threw his left fist at Herro, sparking a melee on the court.
The two players had to be separated by teammates and on-court officials. Both Herro and Nurkic were subsequently ejected from the game. Herro had 16 points in the contest for Miami while Nurkic tallied a double-double for Portland (14 points and 13 rebounds).
Tyler Herro and Jusuf Nurkic were ejected near the end of tonight's Heat-Blazers game 😳
(via @SportsCenter)
https://t.co/eD1tNXupPZ
Kyle Lowry also ejected from Portland Trail Blazers-Miami Heat contest
Earlier, Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry was also ejected from the game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Lowry, who picked up his first technical foul at the 3:13 mark of the second quarter, was tossed from the game after he picked up his second technical with 1:14 left in the first half.
Lowry had only passed the ball to the official when the play stopped, but the manner of his ball toss appeared to irk the referee that it led to him being ejected.
Kyle Lowry was ejected from Heat-Blazers game for... tossing the ball at the official.
Thoughts on this call? 🤔
https://t.co/DIjfsMVaFQ
The explanation given for Lowry's picking up his first technical was, "directing profanity towards a game official." When asked for the reason behind Lowry earning his second technical a few minutes later, it was explained that Lowry had indulged in, "Continuous complaining and throwing the ball at a game official in an unsportsmanlike manner. As per rule, a player receiving a second unsportsmanlike technical foul is automatically ejected."
When a clarification was sought that Lowry had indeed been ejected for tossing the ball at the official, and that there had been no verbal altercation between Lowry and the official, the reply given was, "It was continuous complaining and throwing the ball in a forceful manner at the official."
Official explanation on why Kyle Lowry received 2nd tech and ejected:
“Continuous complaining and throwing the ball at a game official in an unsportsmanlike manner.”
Guess tossing it over is unsportsmanlike? 🤔 twitter.com/willmanso/stat… https://t.co/cR0WcbC4Ry
Despite Lowry missing the entire second half, the Miami Heat went on to win the game. Their regular season record now stands improved to 24-15.