The league announced on Sunday afternoon that Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets and Kris Dunn of the Utah Jazz have both been suspended for punching each other after a brief altercation during their game on Saturday night.
Dunn received a two-game, non-pay suspension, while Smith received a one-game suspension. Dunn will be absent from the Jazz’s games on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs and Monday against the Dallas Mavericks. Smith will not play on Monday night when the Rockets play the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kris Dunn and Jabari Smith Jr. brawl in detail
Just a few seconds into the second quarter on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Smith and Dunn broke out.
As the Rockets were moving the ball down the court, the two were standing close to the top of the key when Dunn abruptly delivered a punch that was intended for Smith’s head. Smith came back with a swing of his own, but before teammates and referees separated them, they both mostly missed.
The altercation was brief, and Smith and Dunn were taken out of the game right away.
“[We] exchanged a couple words, a couple pushes and the next thing you know, we’re ejected,” Dunn said on Saturday night, via ESPN. “For me, I take responsibility for my actions and whatever the league decides for me, I have to respect that.”
With the Rockets this season, Smith has averaged a career-high 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds. He did not speak with reporters following the game. The 20-year-old Auburn player, who the Rockets selected with the third overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, had five points and was ejected on Saturday.
Dunn was dismissed after just six minutes and two points. In his second season with the Jazz, the 30-year-old has averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 assists per game. Dunn is in the last year of a $3.3 million, two-year contract.
The Rockets easily defeated the Jazz, 147-119, in spite of the incident. They are now only 1.5 games back of the final play-in berth in the Western Conference after winning eight straight games. But the Jazz lost for the fifth time in a row, and they now sit 7.5 games behind the Rockets in the standings.