NBA suspends Jabari Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn after heated brawl in Rockets victory over Jazz

The NBA has seen its fair share of fights throughout the year. Clashing during the games from a competitive perspective or even out of pure malice, there is no shortage of incidents where the players have resorted to physical altercations with no regard for the rules or gamesmanship.

Continuing the ill trend, Kris Dunn and Jabari Smith Jr. got into it during the game between the Rockets and Utah Jazz. With the world watching, the NBA was quick to hand out their verdict to pipe down such unsavory incidents.

Jabari Smith Jr. And Kris Dunn suspended by NBA

The clash between the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Saturday recorded a sudden drama with a player from each team getting ejected. Jazz guard Kris Dunn got a two-match suspension without pay for starting a fight and the Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. will not be allowed to play in the next game for his participation in the fight.

During the initial seconds of the second quarter, with 11:55 remaining, the two opponents got involved in an altercation out of the blue. The Jazz man threw a punch at Smith, who reciprocated, although both punches didn’t land. The game officials were quick to separate the two players and both received technical fouls and were ejected from the game.

The 30-year-old Jazz star revealed in a post-game interview that there were a couple of heated exchanges before the incident occurred. While talking to the reporters, Dunn said, “For me, I take responsibility for my actions and whatever the league decides for me, I have to respect that”.

Joe Dumars, the Head of Basketball Operations, made announcements for the repercussions of the incident. Dunn will miss the next two games against the Dallas Mavericks and Spurs, while Smith will miss Monday’s game against the Trail Blazers. Saturday night’s game ended in favor of the Rockets after the ejection of the players who had put up 5 points (Smith) and 2 points (Dunn).

Rockets defeat Jazz

The Rockets dominated the Jazz from the first quarter of the game to end up with a 147-119 victory, recording their eighth consecutive win.

The Rockets showcased their supremacy in the first quarter, leading by 26 points. In the next two quarters, the Jazz did finish close and recorded a 28-25 lead in the final quarter. However, their opponents had entered the fourth quarter with a 31-point lead.

The Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green who has been stealing the show on and off the court, scored a game-high 41 with his game-high 41 points and his teammate Fred VanVleet contributed a season-high 34 points along apart from grabbing 3 rebounds and 7 assists.

The man of the game, Green clarified his goal in a postgame interview when he was asked about his performance, “It won’t really mean anything if we don’t make the playoffs”. The Houston franchise is the 11th team in the Western Conference table with a 35-35 record fighting for positioning in the playin picture. The two teams will meet again on March 29 where hopefully the two players can stay clear of trouble.