Marvin Williams swing and a miss cost the Atlanta Hawks forward two games.
Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams was suspended for a pair of games after his fight with New York Knicks fowrard Shawne Williams of the New York Knicks in the waning seconds of Atlanta's 111-102 win over New York on Friday night.
Shawne Williams was sidelined one game for the fracas, which occurred with 43.7 seconds left in the game. NBA dean of discipline Stu Jackson came down with his verdict shortly after 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Marvin Williams will miss Atlanta's contest against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. He will also miss Wednesday's game against the Toronto Raptors. Shawne Williams will sit in New York's game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Under NBA rules, a player is automatically suspended for at least one game if he attempts to throw a punch. It doesn't matter if the punch finds a player's face, body or air -- like "Starvin Marvin's" attempt to beat down Shawne with his fist in "Skinny-Man Mayhem 2011" did in Friday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks forward and his Knicks counterpart tussled while heading down the floor after Atlanta grabbed a key rebound to all but seal the win. Marvin Williams shoved Shawne Williams and Shawne shoved back, an argument ensued before it quickly escalated to blows.
Marvin Williams' suspension will come a terrible time for this Hawks team. Williams returned to the fold for the first time in 11 games on Wednesday. His first start came against the Knicks. It was the first time in a long time the Hawks starting five have been healthy enough to start a game.
It looks like the Hawks will go "big" against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. Atlanta's preliminary lineup has Al Horford at the four, Josh Smith in Marvin Williams' spot at the three and Jason Collins -- who sat on Friday -- at center.
The Hawks and Mavericks tip off at 8:30 PM on SportSouth and 97.9 FM.