A 1994 NBA Playoff Brawl Once Left An Assistant Coach With Broken Arm

Shandel Richardson | Sep 6, 2024

Nov 28, 1989; Orlando, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Heat forward (43) Grant Long in action against the Orlando Magic at the Orlando Arena. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images © Copyright Imagn Images / RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Former Miami Heat forward Grant Long is among the NBA's all-time nice guys.

He was never in any altercations on the court ... until April 30, 1994.

The Heat and Atlanta Hawks were involved in a bench-clearing fight in Game 2 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It led to suspensions, fines and a broken arm for an assistant coach.

It all started with Long and Hawks forward Duane Ferrell getting into it underneath the basket. Ferrell was fouled hard by Long on a 3-point play. After the two players got in each other's face, Long began choking Ferrell.

"Duane was just a casualty, he was not the object," Long told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "The game to me had been getting out of hand. It was a playoff game. Fouls were not being called. There were obvious fouls that were not being called ... I could feel the momentum shifting out of our favor." 

Earlier in the game, Ferrell scored another three-point play. He was fouled by Glen Rice but waved his finger in Long's face.

Then Long responded later in the game. After the choke, benches cleared. Hawks forward Danny Manning left his seat to join. So did Heat forward Keith Askins, who punched Doug Edwards from behind. Edwards responded with a haymaker.

After Long got entangled with Hawks guard Craig Ehlo, he was restrained by Heat assistant Alvin Gentry. The coach made the mistake of grabbing Long from behind.

"I remember Craig Ehlo being covered up on the floor, thinking somebody was going to jump him," Long said. "Another casualty was Alvin Gentry, my assistant coach with Miami. He came from behind and grabbed me. When there's 30 people on the floor and it's a melee going on, you don't come up from behind somebody and grab them. I had no idea who it was. He grabbed me from behind and I instinctively flipped him over and broke his arm." 

Fifteen players were suspended or fined. Long said he would have reacted differently if he had to do it over again. He is now the TV analyst for the Detroit Pistons on Fox Sports. He and Ferrell remain close friends. The only time the incident surfaces is when they want to share laughs.

But Long's conversation with commissioner David Stern after made him realize things could have gotten worse. Ten years later, the Malice At The Palace brawl between the Pistons and Indiana Pacers that involved fans happened.

"David Stern said to me, `Grant, you've got to think about this,"' Long said. "Everybody took the court and there were officers out there with guns on their side. Imagine if people just started running from the stands and somebody gets hold of those cops. We don't know the mental capacity of everybody in the building."' 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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