Basketball fans witnessed a rare occurrence on Sunday: a punch being thrown during a Summer League game.
The Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks were playing in Las Vegas when tempers flared in the fourth quarter. Mavs forward Eugene Omoruyi gave Kings center Chimezie Metu a hard foul as Metu went airborne for a shot. Metu went crashing to the floor, got up, and threw a punch at Omoruyi. Check out the video:
🇺🇸 Chimezie Metu lost it and threw a punch to Eugene Omoruyi. They were both ejected. It’s #SummerLeague, but still…
🇮🇹 Chimezie Metu di Sacramento perde la testa e tira un pugno a Eugene Omoruyi di Dallas. È Summer League, ma… pic.twitter.com/9Sr9nV088W
— Davide Chinellato (@dchinellato) August 15, 2021
Both players were ejected for the incident, Omoruyi for a Flagrant 2 foul and Metu for throwing the punch. The Kings ended up winning the game 86-70.
While there is obviously no excuse for Metu’s reaction, it is worth noting that the 24-year-old was involved in a very similar incident last season. Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas tossed Metu to the ground after a dunk, which led to Metu missing time with a fractured wrist.
