Miami Heat small striker Caleb Martin said he called Toronto Raptors forward Christian Koloko to apologize and promised him a future dinner after their scuffle Saturday.
Martin was suspended by the NBA for Monday’s game, a 98-90 Heat loss, after the league determined he was the instigator of the scuffle that landed on the basic seats at the Miami bench two nights earlier.
Martin said he accepted his sanction, and said his only problem with the sanctions handed out during the game and in the competition on Sunday was that Koloko paid too high a price.
“I don’t think Christian should have been kicked out or kicked out anyway. He did what he had to do,” Martin said on Monday.
Both Martin and Koloko were called for technical fouls and were kicked out of Saturday’s game. Koloko was fined $15,000 for grabbing Martin during the altercation.
Heat rookie Nikola Jovic, who had left the bench area during the incident, was also suspended from Monday’s game.
Martin made a mistake on Koloko as the two pushed for position early in the third quarter on a rebound that sent the Raptors rookie to the ground. Martin walked over to him, Koloko quickly jumped to his feet, tempers flared, and Martin then forced Koloko back into the seats—the ones bearing the brunt of the impact unoccupied by fans at the time. There were some fans in nearby seats who had some contact with those involved in the scrum.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.