In the aftermath of Wednesday night's heart-stopping Game 1 thriller in the Eastern Conference finals, Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert unleashed some fighting words via Twitter about Miami Heat forward Shane Battier.
"U can knee or kick me every time u drive 2the rim. I'll be there 2protect the rim. That wasn't inadvertent. Battier knew what he was doing," Hibbert posted. Battier also scuffled with Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough, a known antagonist. That skirmish induced Heat center Chris "Birdman" Anderson to push Hansbrough, earning him a technical foul. In the second half, Battier and Hansbrough nearly got into it again after Battier appeared to throw an elbow.
Another instance of potentially dirty play came in the second half when Heat point guard Norris Cole tried to blow by Pacers power forward David West. Cole appeared to lift his forearm up into West's groin area, causing him to grimace on his way back down the court. No foul was called on the play.
The bad blood between these two teams extends back into last season when Indiana coach Frank Vogel was fined $15,000 for saying Miami got away with more flopping than any other team in the NBA. That ties in neatly with the current accusations of dirty play by Battier; he is consistently one of the league's leaders in charges drawn.
Last season Miami lost two players to suspension in their second round matchup with Indiana. Udonis Haslem drew a one-game bad for a flagrant foul on Hansbrough, while backup center Dexter Pittman was hit with a three-game suspension for clotheslining Pacers guard Lance Stephenson. The brutal shot was thought to be retaliation for a choking gesture Stephenson had made toward LeBron James. Pittman did not help his own cause by getting caught winking after his hard foul.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
