Fight breaks out between Cavaliers and Grizzlies after Donovan Mitchell, Desmond Bane get tied up

Another fight broke out in the NBA on Sunday night, this time in a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The fight occurred when Desmond Bane and Donovan Mitchell both went for a loose ball.

As officials blew the whistle, Mitchell appeared to keep fighting for the basketball and rolled over the top of Bane in an attempt to pry it free. That set both benches into action, as players on the court quickly coalesced around the fray.

It didn’t appear that any punches were thrown, so it’ll likely be a relatively inconsequential dust-up for the Cavaliers and the Grizzlies. Still, it’s notable any time the benches clear.

You can check out the incident below.

The Grizzlies and Cavs got into it after Desmond Bane and Donovan Mitchell went after a loose ball.

Here's how it looked and sounded on the ESPN broadcast. #NBA pic.twitter.com/r4ik7pYOyo

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 24, 2025

Multiple players had to be pulled out of the ensuing scrum between the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers, with Bane essentially lifted out of the pile. On the other hand, Zach Edey took a little more work to restrain and pull to safety.

It’ll be interesting to see if the NBA hands down any fines for the fight, which was not the first of its kind this year.

In fact, there have been a few other high-profile incidents earlier this year, not all of them involving the Grizzlies or the Cavaliers.

The Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson slammed the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro to the ground, which led to a brawl late in a game at the end of December.

The fight between Thompson and Herro began when both players were battling for position as play was about to resume. Herro got low on Thompson, which led to the two grabbing each other and Thompson slamming Herro to the ground.

Four players and two coaches were ejected in that fight, including Thompson, Herro, Terry Rozier from the Heat and Jalen Green from the Rockets. Houston coaches Ime Udoka and Ben Sullivan were also kicked out.

Then, in early February, Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba were among five players ejected following a fight in an Orlando Magic vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game.

Rivers wound up by the Orlando bench at one point, and that’s when things started between the two. Bamba actually came off the bench as it all got started.

Rivers, Bamba and three other players — Jalen Suggs, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince — all got ejected as a result of the ensuing scuffle.

Bottom line: Fighting is nothing new in the NBA this season, with Sunday’s scuffle between the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers just the latest.

On3 will have more on this developing story shortly.