The NBA will not suspend Serge Ibaka for his hit below Blake Griffin's belt in the Thunder's 108-104 win over the Clippers on Sunday, according to a report from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Serge Ibaka will not be suspended for Blake Griffin groin chop, according to report
The Thunder forward will reportedly only be fined for hitting the Clippers star below the belt on Sunday.
Stephen Dunn
While Ibaka will be fined, he will be able to play against the Lakers on Tuesday.
After the game on Sunday, Ibaka told USA Today that the hit against Griffin was unintentional.
“He hit my hands away,” Ibaka told reporters. “He’s strong, so when he grabs you, your jersey or whatever, and you try to defend yourself and rebound. So maybe you can do some move, not to hurt, (but) just to get good position. But then something happens where you get hurt in the paint. It’s not anything where I want to try to hurt him. I’m not that kind of person. I just try to play hard, and that’s it.”
During the game between the Clippers and Thunder on Sunday, Los Angeles trailed by six with just more than two minutes to play. With Clippers forward Matt Barnes launching and making a three-point shot, Griffin boxed out Ibaka, who first swatted away Griffin's right arm before taking a powerful hack that connected with Griffin in the groin.
Watch Ibaka's groin punch
The Clippers forward fell to the deck, tensions rose and the officials ultimately tagged Ibaka with a flagrant-1 penalty because of “unnecessary” contact. A flagrant-2 foul is called for “unnecessary and excessive.”
Griffin made one free throw after the foul and following a few offensive rebounds, Los Angeles drilled another three to make one trip down the floor worth seven points and a 100-99 lead. But Oklahoma City would answer to pull out the road victory.
UPDATE: Ibaka has been fined $25,000 by the league.
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