Heat’s Erik Spoelstra defends Myron Gardner after $35,000 fine with ‘easy target’ declaration

As Miami Heat forward Myron Gardner and Memphis Grizzlies’ Scottie Pippen Jr. got into a showdown on Saturday night that led to a scuffle that went into the stands, there was punishment for the two players. With the Heat and Grizzlies players receiving fines for their part in the fight, head coach Erik Spoelstra would come out and defend his player.

The incident happened with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter in what would be Miami’s eventual 136-120 win over the Grizzlies, but what led to it happened before. It started with Gardner going for a defensive rebound, but it looked like Pippen could’ve pushed the Heat forward out of the way.

Then, on the other end of the court, as Pippen made a three-pointer, he ran right into Gardner, who looked to have stood right in front of the Grizzlies guard to make him fall. Pippen would then retaliate by initiating the fight on the corner, leading to Spoelstra saying that Gardner is an “easy target” and how though they’ll move on, they “disagree” with the fine.

This moment with Myron Gardner & Scotty Pippen Jr. is what led to the fight.

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)

pic.twitter.com/zlx3Risb95 https://t.co/xLmHmbHazz

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 22, 2026

“He’s a young player. It’s easy for the league to make a point on this because it went into the stands,” Spoelstra said, via The Miami Herald. “But we disagree with it. Pippen is the one that pushed it into the stands, and Myron didn’t really retaliate. Once he was on the ground, he was laughing. So if it was somebody else, I don’t think it would have been a $35,000 fine. But we’ll move on.”

Heat’s Myron Gardner on the “accident” made 

While Spoelstra defended the Heat’s young player, who had just been converted to a standard contract from a two-way earlier in the week, he would say after Monday’s practice that it would be a “good teaching moment” for Gardner. The forward himself would say how he “ran into” Pippen by accident, which resulted in the Memphis guard reacting.

“Oh, man. I feel really light, for sure,” Gardner said. “But it’s good. It’s behind me now. So there’s nothing I can do about it.”

At any rate, Miami and Gardner look to put that event in the rearview mirror as the team next faces the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

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