Quincy Acy suspended for hard foul and half-punch on John Wall (Video)

It’s been a long and enervating year for the New York Knicks so far this season, so one can’t blame the members of this squad for being a little huffy at having to work at noon on Christmas Day before a nationally televised audience.

Still, there’s no excuse for what Quincy Acy did in the fourth quarter of New York’s one-sided loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. With the Knicks working in the midst of their best run of what could have been a blowout, Acy decided to ruin every bit of momentum his team had with this needless foul on John Wall and eventual half-punch.

Watch:

Acy may have a reputation as New York’s resident enforcer, presuming the Knicks have such a thing, but he is a genuinely good dude. This was an odd, out-of-character moment that seemed out of place, but apparently this is the sort of thing that happens when you’re mired in a 5-26 season, one on national display on a holiday.

Though Acy didn’t completely follow through with the punch, the national setting and his hard foul prior to the skirmish earned him a one-game suspension, the NBA announced on Friday. Wall was also fined $15,000 for pushing Acy and “escalating the incident.”

It’s unfortunate that the NBA’s Christmas showcase featured a terrible game marred by a fight instigated by a member of one of the league’s worst teams, but this is what happens when you slavishly commit to running New York Knicks games by habit.