In a relatively meaningless game between the 1st place Adelaide 36ers and 10th place Brisbane Bullets, there was more fight than anyone could have expected between the two teams. Heading into halftime, the Bullets were only down to the 36ers by six points with a 46–52 scoreline and could have staged an impressive finish for a major upset. Instead, the implore to fight was taken too seriously and the Bullets saw six of their players ejected as a result of a bench-clearing brawl en route to a 71–103 sledging.

In a season that seemingly could not get any worse for the Bullets, it somehow did in the courtside front row of their home arena. They have seen an entire array of injuries, a coaching work experience placement go wrong, and a rotating assortment of imports. They overcame it all to still be in with a chance against the top team in the competition for most of the game. However, that contest was unfortunately over with a little over 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter with a 24-point deficit.

That was the moment when Hunter Maldonado, their sixth import of the season in his sixth game, tangled with Nick Rakocevic of the 36ers under the basket. Rakocevic was upset as he thought he had been fouled a couple of times by Maldonado with no whistle. They locked arms for a second time as a three-pointer by the 36ers’ Dejan Vasiljevic sailed overhead but Rakocevic had no intention of celebrating. He instead gathered his strength to face Maldonado and pushed him backwards; Maldonado fell in front of the vacant first row and Rakocevic then dropped with exaggerated force on top of him.

Rakocevic continued to lay over Maldonado while the latter helplessly pushed underneath. Maldonado received a second Rakocevic body-drop by the time other players had reached this unusual smothering activity. The next confrontation was to involve the first respondents: Terry Taylor of the Bullets and Zylan Cheatham of the 36ers. Seeing Taylor approach, Cheatham immediately went to control him but was shoved away. Taylor utilised the free opportunity to first grab Rakocevic by the back of his jersey before he decided more force was needed and placed Rakocevic in a headlock. While the other players swarmed the melee primarily as peacemakers trying to break it up, Taylor held Rakocevic for almost 10 seconds until he was finally convinced to let go. An agitated Cheatham was prevented from further intervention by an unexpected ally in opponent Jacob Holt with a bearhug that was equally impressive as it was wise. To further complicate woes for the Bullets, the brawl happened in front of their bench and a lack of control meant that they had an assortment of people present who should not have been there: Taine Murray (benched), Alex Ducas (inactive), Sam McDaniel (inactive), Casey Prather (inactive) and Patrick Ewing Jr. (non-lead assistant coach). The 36ers also had their non-lead assistant coach, Kerry Williams, cross the court to assist in breaking up the brawl.

What immediately followed was an array of ejections. Maldonado, Rakocevic and Taylor were ejected for their role in the brawl. Murray, Ducas, McDaniel and Williams were ejected for leaving the bench. Bullets guard Tristan Devers was seemingly ejected for no reason. Prather and Ewing were seemingly not ejected for equally no reason. The Bullets finished the game with only one active player sitting on the bench. The 36ers capitalised with the majority of the Bullets roster being absent by pushing their margin to 31 points.

The press conferences after the game from both teams were a mess. The 36ers were throwing accusations at free will. Head coach Mike Wells claimed that Maldonado was punching Rakocevic and “was not stopping.” Vasiljevic sparked the bizarre conspiracy theory that the unruly behaviour of the Bullets was a deliberate act “because they’re going to finish last” and he “hope[d] the league looks into it.” The Bullets responded with head coach Darryl McDonald claiming that Rakocevic started the incident by “piledriving” Maldonado into the floor. Any review of the footage confirms that Maldonado was not throwing punches nor was he driven vertically into the ground. Any rational thought would conclude that what resulted after Maldonado and Rakocevic tangled was in-the-moment and not a planned act as theorised.

The clandestine-as-ever Game Review Panel issued its findings today. The heaviest punishment was on Taylor for unduly rough play deemed as intentional conduct, medium impact and high contact; he was suspended for one match after an early guilty plea. Rakocevic and Maldonado were only charged with unsportsmanlike behaviour and each received fines. Rakocevic already possessed a suspended one-match sentence for striking Finn Delany of Melbourne United in December so his second charge means he will now be required to serve that penalty as well. Cheatham was charged with engaging in a melee but only received a fine. Ducas, McDaniel, Murray, Prather, Ewing and Williams were all charged with leaving the bench during a fight and were issued fines. Devers was vindicated by exclusion only.

For the 36ers, the fight has resulted in the loss of Rakocevic for their next game which will be against the second-place South East Melbourne Phoenix. It is his second partaking in unsportsmanlike behaviour this season. The 36ers brought Rakocevic in with a defined role of being their reserve big man who brought some height and toughness off the bench. What is now becoming repeated behaviour has to be a sign of concern. His contribution in the first brawl of the season could have been much worse for his teammates who could have also been even further involved in the proceedings; Cheatham was prevented merely by the sharp awareness of Holt. It also means that the 36ers have now been involved in a major brawl for the second consecutive season; never forget the courtside confrontation involving Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell which saw them receive suspensions that effectively derailed the 36ers’ chances for a championship. This incident could have been much worse and the 36ers are lucky that they only miss Rakocevic for the one game. It will hopefully be a final chance for him to straighten his behaviour as the postseason approaches.

For the Bullets, what else is next for them? Had only one more player been ejected or injured, they would have had no reserves left for the game. Almost half of their roster have been fined to add to their miseries from the rest of the season. McDonald is showing some real love-of-the-game-type behaviour right now by persevering through all of this. The team has a 2–17 record since November; they started the season 4–6. Is it possible that the situation could somehow get… even worse? I would have once thought it improbable but their challenges throughout this season suggest otherwise. They have four games left until they can wrap it all up and imagine a life that did not go awry when their coach emerged from the boardroom.