The shuffle was so aggressive that a referee, a head coach, and a player took a tumble trying to de-escalate the fight. That’s what it took to separate the New York Knicks‘ Mitchell Robinson from the Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels. Their altercation did not end as verbal jabs were exchanged after Game 6. But it seems only one of the players got fined for that conduct.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, revealed that Mitchell Robinson has been fined $50,000 and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been fined $25,000. The statement included the reason for the 50% difference. “The amount of Robinson’s fine takes into account his inappropriate post on social media in reference to the incident postgame.” Yes, the Knicks star did make two social media posts, but after the game, even the Hawks star accepted his intention behind the ball.
No suspension for Mitchell Robinson, per NBA. Robinson and Dyson Daniels both fined for altercation. Robinson 50K, Daniels 25K.
Daniels initiated contact with the elbow; even the announcers said that. When the refs, after review, called a loose-ball foul on Robinson, the ESPN announcers did not agree with the call. “They clearly didn’t see the elbow that hit him directly in the rib cage as that ball was coming off the free throw. That’s obviously what triggered this entire thing.” This transpired with 4:39 remaining in the second quarter, as the Knicks were already ahead by 50 at the State Farm Arena. Daniels appeared to make contact with an elbow thrown into Robinson’s ribcage, followed by a dangerous grab of the big man’s arm.
Both players escalated the altercation, with Robinson continuing to aggressively pursue Daniels after the players had been separated. Within seconds, players from both teams rushed into the altercation. NBA referee Kevin Scott inadvertently took the fall and was nearly trampled. Apart from the officials, even Knicks head coach Mike Brown, in his attempts to hold back Robinson, tumbled on the ground, and even Anunoby lost his footing. This altercation resulted in both players being assessed technical fouls and ejection. After the 140-89 victory over the Hawks, Mitchell Robinson had plenty to say on his social media.
“Knew something was gone happen,” Robinson wrote in a Facebook post. “My mental just not the same I’m just lost in the world at the moment.” It was the largest win in a playoff game in franchise history. The shots towards Daniels did not stop. On his Instagram Story, Mitchell Robinson posted a video that showed a cartoon animal singing the message: “Hey, I gotta question cus I really need to know, do you ever get tired of being bitch ass n—a, .p—- ass n—a.”
The Knicks star made the joke, clearly mocking Daniels, and it was an expletive. But does this warrant a greater amount than the Hawks star’s clear elbow? Especially when he accepted his intention around it.
The NBA missed Dyson Daniels’ post-game comments on Mitchell Robinson’s foul
“Over the series, there were a few elbows thrown. And he kind of does his thing on the free throws, where he puts his elbows really high and got me with like two or three of them throughout the series on the free throws. So I gave him one back. He didn’t like it, I didn’t like it. So it kind of just boiled over a little bit,” Daniels said to the media after the game. There were altercations before, but none to this level.
Mitchell Robinson picked up a technical in Game 2 for stepping over Daniels. So, according to the Hawks star, this elbow was a warranted jab. “I thought it was just gonna be a tech and move on,” Daniels continued. “But probably went for a little too long. So they just threw us out, plus, we were down 50 as well, which probably went into it. It was a silly play. I shouldn’t have done it, but also just trying to stick up for myself as well.” So, he clearly admitted making that foul intentionally, and yet he got fined for a lesser amount.
But Mitchell Robinson won’t sweat over the $50k amount. Because the bottom line is that the fine and ejection will not affect Robinson’s availability for Game 1 of New York’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston or Philadelphia. This is more crucial for the Knicks and their star center than any fine.
