Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba has been suspended four games without pay and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers has been suspended three games without pay for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
In addition, Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been suspended one game without pay for escalating the altercation by aggressively grabbing Rivers around the neck and pulling him to the floor.
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been fined $20,000 for his role in the altercation, which included running into the scrum and pushing Bamba in the back.
Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba got into an altercation on the court.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 4, 2023
Five players were ejected from the game. pic.twitter.com/TbhF9JV5xa
Bamba and Rivers engaged in an altercation in front of the Magic bench, with both players throwing punches. Suggs and McDaniels then entered the altercation as non-peacemakers, which resulted in a continued escalation of the situation.
The incident, for which all four players received technical fouls and were ejected, occurred with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter of the Magic’s 127-120 win over the Timberwolves on Feb. 3 at Target Center.
Following the incident, Bamba attempted to continue to engage with Rivers in a hostile manner in the corridor outside the locker rooms, where he also aggressively shoved a security representative. Both Bamba and Rivers continued the escalation on social media following the game.
Bamba will begin serving his four-game suspension and Suggs will serve his one-game suspension on Sunday, Feb. 5 when the Magic visit the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center.
Rivers will begin serving his three-game suspension on Sunday, Feb. 5 when the Timberwolves host the Denver Nuggets at Target Center.