MIAMI — Toronto’s Christian Koloko and Miami’s Caleb Martin were both ejected in the third quarter of the Raptors-Heat game on Saturday night after they scuffled and ended up in the first row of baseline seats.
It all started with 7:46 left in the third quarter, when Martin and Koloko were jostling for a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Toronto’s Pascal Siakam. Martin was called for a foul on the play, Koloko wound up on the floor, and Martin stepped toward him as the Raptors’ rookie quickly bounced to his feet.
Within seconds, Martin and Koloko were tangled again. Martin appeared to drive Koloko into the seats, which toppled over. Players from both teams quickly rushed to that spot, which was just a couple of feet in front of the Heat bench.
“I just think that there’s a lot of plays that were kind of leading up to it,” Martin said. “It was a chippy game. That’s typically how the game goes with Toronto. It’s a chippy back and forth. But ultimately I just think that emotions were high and the game was a close game. It was back and forth. Overall, I got to be more professional in the way I handle those type of situations.”
Koloko said he was confused as to why Martin stepped toward him after the foul.
“He just stood there looking at me like crazy,” he said. “I just stood up. I don’t know.”
The game was stopped for several minutes while referees reviewed the play, which gave crews time to mop up a large amount of spilled drinks and clean up the area. Martin and Koloko were both whistled for technicals, in addition to the ejections.
Miami went on to win the game, 112-109.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and The Associated Press contributed to this report.