It remains unclear where exactly this fan with a front-row seat for Monday night's matchup between the Utah Jazz and Miami Heat was directing his courtside chatter, but whomever his intended target, his words brought about a result he probably hadn't bargained for — an invitation to raise up and get the heck out of EnergySolutions Arena. Behold: The odd incident took place at the 3:01 mark of the third quarter, with the Jazz leading the defending champs by 20. With the ball on the sideline and Wade about to trigger an inbounds pass, the Jazz TV feed on Root Sports picked up a security guard who walking the boundary and approaching a young man in a black hat. She touched his left arm and gestured to the right, appearing to ask the fan to exit his seat and come with her, as Wade stood just to the side of the scene. The fan seemed to be talking to Wade, who stepped aside and allowed the security guard and fan to exit; the fan appeared to continue his chatter as he exited the seating area and play resumed. What's weird is, we don't have any concrete facts on why the dude got chucked. Text accompanying a video clip of the incident on NBA.com suggests the fan was ejected for heckling Wade, but after the game, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald , Wade said the fan got the gate for saying something to the official who initiated the heave-ho. That official? Courtney Kirkland, whom BDL readers might remember for catching air to block a free-throw attempt by Brooklyn Nets forward Kris Humphries earlier this season. If Walt "Clyde" Frazier doesn't refer to Kirkland's "rejecting and ejecting prowess" the next time he refs a New York Knicks game, I will be very disappointed, indeed. As the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman noted , it was the second time in as many Heat road games that a courtside fan has been ejected. During Miami's 128-99 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, though, it was a Heat fan who was tossed for heckling Kings coach Keith Smart early in the third quarter with Miami up by 20 points. Interestingly enough, the heckling fan wasn't the only one to receive an early exit from the game; Wade got one, too. His hook, though, came not from Kirkland but from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
More...
More...
