Miami Heat centre Hassan Whiteside was suspended one game without pay on Tuesday by the NBA for elbowing Boston Celtics centre Kelly Olynyk in the back of the neck.
The violation took place with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter of Boston’s 100-90 victory at Miami on Monday.
Whiteside guarded Olynyk near the free throw line and when he turned and moved toward the basket, Whiteside elbowed him in the back of the neck. Whiteside then charged at Olynyk and threw him to the floor.
The incident drew a flagrant foul call on the play and Whiteside was ejected from the game after scoring seven points and grabbing nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
Whiteside will serve his ban on Wednesday when the Heat play host to the Brooklyn Nets.
At 28-35, the Heat are one loss behind Indiana and Charlotte for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and only two games ahead of the Nets and Boston.
Whiteside’s violation was his second outburst in as many weeks, having tackled Phoenix centre Alex Len in an altercation that led to ejections for both players.
Whiteside has averaged 10.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks since signing with the Heat midway into the season, Miami’s first since the departure of superstar LeBron James, who guided the Heat to the past four NBA Finals and won two titles before leaving last July for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
