WASHINGTON -- The NBA fined Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris $25,000 on Saturday for "attempting to escalate an altercation and pushing a game official" during a scuffle with the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
With 9:33 to go in the first quarter of the Wizards' 122-103 win, Morris and OG Anunoby got into it after the Raptors guard sent Morris to the floor. Morris retaliated by shoving Anunoby with a forearm before the two had to be separated. Morris also shoved official Ken Mauer aside during the altercation.
"It wasn't really a scuffle," Morris said after the game. "I felt like [Anunoby] really went high with his elbow. That's what really got me started. We needed some physicality. I felt like when we played them in Toronto, they did everything too freely. So this is me trying to set the tone for how we need to play the whole series, especially on Sunday."
The two teams had other minor scuffles during the testy game, as Bradley Beal and Jonas Valanciunas had an incident and Serge Ibaka had to be restrained from going after John Wall.
"Things get chippy," Beal said. "Things get out of hand. We talk trash. I think it's a part of the game."
ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
