Cleveland Cavaliers HC Speaks Out About Altercation Against Grizzlies

Kenny Atkinson spoke out with his thoughts about the Cleveland Cavaliers' altercation with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Feb 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies players scuffle after a play during the second half at Rocket Arena. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies played a very hard-fought game that had some tempers flaring. In the third quarter, there was an altercation between Donovan Mitchell and Desmond Bane.

That altercation led to some pushing and shoving and technicals were issued to both players. Nothing escalated too far and the game continued on.

When everything was said and done, the Cavaliers ended up winning the game by a final score of 129-123.

Following the win, Cleveland improved to 47-10 on the season. They're still the best team in the NBA and have shown no signs of slowing down.

Kenny Atkinson took some time post-game to talk about the scuffle between the Cavaliers and Grizzlies. He was not pleased with other players getting involved and would have rather let Mitchell and Bane figure things out on their own.

“Stay out of the way and let the two guys tussle," Atkinson said bluntly

He makes a good point. Other players getting involved simply escalates the situation and makes bigger issues more likely.

Thankfully, nothing bad came from the scuffle and Cleveland was able to get the last laugh.

Next up for the Cavaliers will be a Tuesday evening game on the road against the Orlando Magic. They will look to continue playing like an NBA Finals favorite.

To this point in the season, Cleveland has been such a tight-knit team and have shown very few flaws. If they continue to play the brand of basketball that Atkinson has been teaching, they're going to be a very tough team to beat in a seven-game series.

All of that being said, fans enjoyed another big win and some tension happening provided some extra entertainment. Atkinson would rather see his players handle things differently if something like that happens again and he's definitely not wrong.