All that had to happen was Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbling out the final 15 seconds of an already-decided game. However, when Antetokounmpo cut in front of and bumped into Trey Lyles, the Kings’ forward took exception and pushed Antetokounmpo, then Brook Lopez jumped in to defend his guy, and it was a thing.
Brook Lopez and Trey Lyles both got ejected after wild scuffle 😳 pic.twitter.com/OmzV0BwtfK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 14, 2023
Wednesday the NBA announced it was suspending Lyles one game without pay for starting the incident with a shove — then escalating things by “striking Lopez in the face and grabbing and holding Lopez around the neck area” — while Lopez was fined $25,000 for his role in escalating everything. Both players were ejected at the time.
Lyles will serve his suspension Wednesday night when the Kings take on the Bulls.
“I don’t know what happened, but we ain’t taking s*** from nobody,” Kings coach Mike Brown said after the incident. “Trust me on that. And they’re all going to have each other’s backs in there.”
Lopez said he would always have a teammate’s back.
Brook Lopez to Sideline Sources on Trey Lyles:
— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) March 14, 2023
“I thought what that guy did to Giannis was cheap. He didn't need to do any of that stuff. He stepped up to Giannis a little bit as he walked off and I didn't like that. I had my guy’s back like I would have any of my teammates.”
The NBA sided more with Lopez.
