Josh Howard was ejected Tuesday night when he came to the aide of teammate Devin Harris, who had been shoved to the ground by Sacramento center Brad Miller with 7:01 left in the second quarter at Pan American Center on the New Mexico State campus.

Howard gave Miller a hard forearm in the back of the neck. He then was put into a bear hug by Kings' assistant coach Chuck Person. Players were grabbing and shoving each other, but it didn't appear any punches were thrown. It also was unclear whether any players left the bench area.

A flagrant foul, penalty two, was called on Howard, which does not carry an automatic suspension, but the NBA office will review the incident. It's possible Howard could be suspended for the Oct. 31 season opener at Cleveland.

"I was protecting my teammate; that's about as simple as you can put it," Howard said. "It was a dirty play, and it wasn't even Devin."