Roy Hibbert didn't victimize himself after being part of a scuffle in Tuesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors. The Indiana Pacers center told the Indianapolis Star that he was sorry and added that his actions received criticism from his mother.
"My mom was a little upset," Hibbert said. "She said I should have walked away. It's unfortunate it happened. I watched the video and I saw there was a little kid that ran up out of his seat when all that happened. I apologize to the fans that were sitting courtside. We're a team that loves the fans and we don't want to scare them away."
Players involved in the scrum on both teams said afterward that it was just a result of a physical game.
Hibbert expected to be suspended, and he was on Wednesday, the league announced. The NBA suspended the Indiana center and Warriors forward David Lee for a game each after they instigated the altercation. Warriors Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, along with Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, were all fined $35,000 for "escalating" the ordeal.
Drawing heavy contact with one another to get in position off the ball, Lee and Hibbert ended up in a shoving match with one another as a play was blown dead. Hibbert admitted that he didn't even realize that he had thrown the smaller Curry aside in the midst of the commotion that bled into the corner seats at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Hibbert was the only player tossed from the game, but Curry, Thompson and Indiana forward David West received technical fouls. West was not fined by the NBA.
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