Long-simmering tensions from the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals between Boston and Cleveland have gotten two players fined.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith got a $15,000 fine for initiating a scuffle with the Celtics by getting tangled up with Aron Baynes during Saturday’s preseason game. Boston’s Marcus Smart, who was ejected from the game, got the larger $25,000 fine for pushing Smith from behind and escalating the fracas.
Marcus Smart, JR Smith fined pic.twitter.com/R6hjGK2bm6
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) October 8, 2018
The scuffle led to an off-court war of words between Smart and Smith, but the NBA appears to be done with them for the moment.
Smart and Smith have bad blood dating back to the Eastern Conference Finals, so it is perhaps no surprise that they got tangled up, even if it was just a preseason game. Boston’s first meeting of the season with Cleveland comes on Nov. 30 at home, which may be a game worth watching.
