The Miami Heat are now one game away from their third consecutive Eastern Conference title, but will need to pull out a road win Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers at 8:30 pm ET.
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Via ESPN:
Miami Heat center Chris Andersen said he "can't regret" his suspension for Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Meanwhile, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he had a talk about aggressive play with Andersen, who is now on the verge of a second suspension if there's any more rough play.
"We have to accept it and move on, it's irrelevant whether we agree or disagree," Spoelstra said. "I had a discussion with (Andersen) and that's between he and I."
The NBA suspended Andersen and issued a flagrant-2 foul for his blindside body check of Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough in the Heat's Game 5 victory on Thursday, as well as for escalating the situation.
The foul upgrade is significant. Combined with a flagrant foul-1 Andersen was assessed in the previous series against the Chicago Bulls, Andersen now has three "points" in the NBA's discipline system for rough play in the playoffs. If Anderson commits another flagrant foul, be it a flagrant-1 or flagrant-2 classification, in the playoffs he would draw an automatic suspension.
That reality was likely the impetus of Spoelstra's meeting with Andersen, which took place at the team hotel Friday night after the league levied the suspension.
Andersen was the last Heat player on the floor Saturday afternoon at the end of the team's shootaround. Once he left Bankers Life Fieldhouse he was not permitted to return.
"It was their decision, that was their decision and it is what it is," Andersen said. "I have to deal with the repercussions of it. ... It was the heat of the moment, the heat of the battle pushed me out of my comfort zone and got out of my composure. Now I'm dealing with it.
"I can't regret anything. I'm not going to change who I am or how I play. I just have to keep my composure better."
Hansbrough said he wasn't aware of anything he did to provoke Andersen, either with his actions or anything he said to him on the court.
"''m not sure what happened, playoff intensity got the best of some people," Hansbrough said. "I was more kind of caught off guard by his foul. ... I'm not sure if it was just a push."
