Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley and new Washington Wizards acquisition Brandon Jennings have each been fined $35,000 after the pair became embroiled in a heated coming-together on Tuesday night. The NBA sanctioned the punishment for Dudley for "escalating an altercation" after he appeared to head-butt opposing forward Jason Smith, while Jennings received the fine for "making menacing gestures" due to his gun-sign hand mannerisms -- both of which have no place in the game. The two were rightly punished by the league.

Tempers flare

The game itself was tense to say the least.

The incident occurred just a couple of minutes into the second quarter, when Smith set an illegal screen in the backcourt on the unsuspecting Suns rookie, Tyler Ullis. This prompted Dudley to stick up for his teammate as he went flying into Smith, provoking a melee. Jennings was then seen to be making gun gestures at Dudley, who had to be restrained by his teammates. Both were ejected and had to be forcefully escorted off the court by officials.

The players

Dudley had been seemingly uninspiring prior to this incident, boasting a stat-line of zero points, one rebound and one steal in six minutes of action, while Jennings hadn't been too productive, either. He had two points, and one assist in five minutes before his ejection.

Both players have been utilized as bench pieces for the entirety of the season. Dudley is averaging some pretty standard numbers for a utility man, notching 6.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest while knocking down shots at a 46.4 percent clip. Jennings, meanwhile, has averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 assists a game on the season, but has only amassed a weak return of 2 points and 4 assists a night over his first first four games as a Wizard.

At 21-44, the Suns are slumped in second-bottom of the Western Conference. Their high-flying counterparts, on the other hand, have emerged as shock contenders with a record of 39-24, as Washington currently occupy the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
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