Butler among 5 suspended after Heat-Pelicans brawl

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and New Orleans Pelicans wing Naji Marshall were each suspended one game for their role in instigating a fight between the teams on Friday night, the league announced.

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Heat center Thomas Bryant were each banned three games for taking part in the brawl while leaving the bench, and Heat forward Nikola Jovic was suspended one game for departing the bench but not taking part in the incident.

The fracas began when Kevin Love committed a hard foul during Zion Williamson's layup attempt, holding him in mid-air and pulling him to the ground.

Marshall and Butler were the first to get into it before the teams went back and forth on multiple occasions.

Butler, Marshall, Alvarado, and Bryant were all ejected.

After the game, Williamson downplayed the severity of Love's foul that led to the altercation, telling reporters that the Heat veteran was just "protecting his fall."