Tempers flared in the fourth quarter of the Miami Heat's 97-81 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night. The win was Miami's 15th consecutive victory, a franchise record, but the story was J.J. Barea's confrontation with Ray Allen in the fourth quarter.
While being guarded by Barea past the 3-point line, Allen got away with a push to free up space. Barea didn't appreciate the shove and bumped Allen hard as he drove to the basket, knocking him to the floor. Allen shot up and the two had to be separated by their teammates. Barea was initially hit with a Flagrant 1 foul, which calls for two shots and possession. After review, though, Barea was slapped with a Flagrant 2, which carries an automatic ejection. As he left the court, Barea was caught on camera hurling expletives at Allen. After the game Barea told reporters "I've been playing in the NBA for seven years. I get hit harder than that every night. I don't get up crying and want to fight." He also said he expects the league to review the play further and change the call. Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman received a technical foul for arguing with officials over their ruling.
Allen was still miffed following the game, saying "It just came out of nowhere. I was dribbling down the floor, it was a play where he kind of chucked me a little bit and knocked the ball away. I got it back and drove and he just leveled me. I thought it was uncalled for. There's no place for that in this game."
Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 32 points to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds, while LeBron James shook off his sore knee to put up 20 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Derrick Williams was the star for Minnesota, dropping 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
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