The Boston Celtics were beating the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series when a mini-skirmish broke out with about a minute left. Paul Pierce wound up down with a shoulder injury in front of the Miami Heat bench. Quentin Richardson came over to check Pierce out and may have said something to Kevin Garnett who was tending to Pierce. Obviously something didn’t sit well with Garnett because he let loose with an elbow on Richardson. Watch this video of the Celtics/Heat fight where Kevin Garnett elbowed Quentin Richardson:
Garnett wound up ejected from the game and now he must wait to hear what the NBA decides to do. There is precedent to fine and/or suspend Garnett for throwing the elbow. Last year in the playoffs, Dwight Howard was suspended a game for elbowing Samuel Dalembert but Kendrick Perkins avoided a suspension despite throwing an elbow himself. Both of those elbows were thrown in actual game conditions, not while time was out as it was in this case. I think that will contribute to the League looking at the play as more intentional than incidental.
