He was signed for a salary for close to a million dollars in the hope that he’ll raise the standard of the game. Instead, NBA legend Dwight Howard was ejected from a game in the Taiwanese league for getting involved in a full-blown fist fight that saw 12 players asked to leave, including the eight-time NBA all-star.
Howard’s side, Taoyuan Leopards, defeated Taiwan Beer HeroBears 120-108, with the 37-year-old scoring 28 points and 14 rebounds, apart from seven assists. But it was the chaotic scenes towards the end that grabbed all the attention.
According to SportBible, less than a minute was left to be played when HeroBears captain, Chiang Yu, landed a knock on the face of his opponent, Chen Hsiao-jung.
Dwight Howard’s team in Taiwan was involved in a WILD brawl towards the end of their game 😳pic.twitter.com/sahpCxl8nH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 22, 2023
With less than a minute left HeroBears captain, Chiang Yu copped a rough-looking knock to the face from Leopards player Chen Hsiao-jung. The latter tried to retaliate as match officials quickly got involved to separate the players. However, the situation escalated after HeroBears assistant coach Lin Chieh-ho ran onto the field and charged at Chen.
As punches were landed and fists were flung, the game got delayed for more than 20 minutes after the officials went through the footage to decide which players should be penalised.
Eventually, thet sent off seven Leopards players and five from HeroBears.
Howard reportedly protested the decision to eject him, arguing that he was trying to stop the brawl. But the referees didn’t accept his argument.