New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams were ejected after getting into a fight in the third quarter of the Suns’ 123-114 road win on Saturday night.
Jose Alvarado, Mark Williams Threw Punches
The 6-foot Alvarado was attempting to fight through a ball screen set by the 7-foot-1 Williams to keep pressure on Suns sharpshooter Collin Gillespie, who had made his first five 3-point attempts of the game.
Alvarado pushed Williams out of the way while playing defense and was called for a foul. Williams then responded by shoving Alvarado in the back.
Alvarado turned toward Williams and the two exchanged words before grabbing each other and throwing punches. Both players landed right hands before being separated and then ejected.
Jose Alvarado and Mark Willians start throwing punches at each other and being ejected from the game for fighting (with replays)
The full incident – no cuts.
Pelicans commentary. pic.twitter.com/21I8exqNlZ
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Suns coach Jordan Ott attributed the skirmish to exhaustion and gameness.
“I saw it start, and then all of a sudden everyone jumped in,” Ott said. “Obviously, it happens. It just feels like the lack of sleep, the second night of a back-to-back, something always tends to happen.
“Last night, there were a lot of free throws; tonight, there wasn’t as much. They let us play tonight, which is something we enjoy. They got tangled up, and obviously, they both got thrown out.”
Suns Defeated Pelicans In Two-Game Sweep
The Suns led 87-83 at the time of the brawl. Phoenix went on to defeat the Pelicans for a two-game sweep of a back-to-back set between the teams in New Orleans.
Phoenix was coming off a 115-108 win over the Pels on Friday night.
In Saturday’s game, Devin Booker led seven Suns players in double figures and finished with 20 points. Dillon Brooks had 18 points, Collin Gillespie scored 17, Jordan Goodwin added 16, and Royce O’Neale ended his outing with 15.
“Yesterday was a dog fight, and today was a dog fight,” said O’Neale. “It took everybody to get this win. Everybody came in and contributed and fought hard.”
Meanwhile, Trey Muphy III had 24 points for the Pelicans, and Zion Williamson scored 22 off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting. Rookie center Derik Queen had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeremiah Fears scored 18 and Saddiq Bey finished with 17.
The Suns (18-13) visit the Washington Wizards on Monday night, while the Pelicans (8-25) host the New York Knicks on the same night. Phoenix sits seventh in the Western Conference standings.
