Ibaka justifies throwing punch at Lopez: 'I had to defend myself'

Serge Ibaka believes he has a perfectly reasonable explanation for his brief fistfight with Robin Lopez in Tuesday's win over the Chicago Bulls.

While it's rare to see NBA players actually throw punches at one another, the Raptors power forward says he was only trying to protect himself against Lopez.

"That thing happened where you just start push each other, like always happens when there's contact, and then he throws a punch," Ibaka told reporters following the contest. "You know, like a man, I had to defend myself. I'm not just going to be out there and watch a man like him punch me and just walk away. I had to defend myself. So that's what happened."

Unlike Lopez, Ibaka wasn't convinced he deserved a suspension for his actions, arguing that things wouldn't have escalated had Lopez not initiated the skirmish.

"I just hope the league will do a better job to watch," Ibaka said. "Because if that was me, we would not get to that point, punching and stuff."