No suspensions.
The Hawks and Pacers will have full rosters for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference playoff series Saturday. The NBA conducted a review Friday of a Game 6 incident that could have resulted in the suspension of two Pacers players, including All-Star Paul George, for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation.
The NBA announced Friday afternoon that the league reviewed all available video and determined that no further action would be taken. The review also included whether Hawks players left the bench area.
An altercation broke out between the teams in the final seconds of the first half Thursday night when the Hawks’ Mike Scott and the Pacers’ George Hill got tangled near the visitor’s bench. Hill stepped forward and shoved Scott in the face, and the two had to be separated as Scott shoved back. Pacers coach Frank Vogel was one of the first to step in and break up the confrontation.
“He put his finger in my face,” Scott said. “He put his finger on me, and I was defending myself.”
TV replays clearly showed that during the incident Pacers players Rasual Butler and George stepped from the bench onto the court. Butler made it to the 3-point line, and George had both feet on the court before being restrained by assistant coaches.
According to the NBA rulebook: “During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $50,000. The suspensions will commence prior to the start of the next game.”
That would have meant that the players would miss Game 7.
Scott and Hill were assessed technical fouls during the game.
“I haven’t seen it,” Vogel said of the video replay following the game. “Somebody told me about it. I’m not concerned about any suspension until I hear something. I don’t imagine there would be.”
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said Friday afternoon, before the league ruling, that he had looked at the incident on replay, but offered no opinion.
“The league will look at it, and the league will make their decisions,” Budenholzer said.
The issue caused considerable anxiety for the Pacers and their fans. There is precedent in which the NBA has suspended players for leaving the bench area, even by a step, in past postseasons.
In 1997, the Knicks’ Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston (Game 6) and Larry Johnson and John Starks (Game 7) were suspended in a series against the Heat. In 2007, the Suns’ Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game 5 of a series about the Spurs. Budenholzer was an assistant on the Spurs’ staff at the time.
“I know how strict they are on that rule,” George told the Indianapolis Star. “Just hope that they’ll give me an opportunity to play in Game 7.”
