Justin Bieber strikes a pose on Instagram following a scuffle at Game 3 of the NBA finals. He should thank his opponent for sparing him a serious beatdown. (Photo: Justin Bieber/Instagram)

Justin Bieber got into a scuffle following Game 3 of the NBA playoffs. But despite raging tabloid hype, it was hardly a fistfight and Bieber was spared a serious beat down by his unidentified opponent, who merely wrestled the flyweight to the ground without hitting him.

Most of the details about the encounter are contained in a video posted by celebrity gossip site, TMZ.

Although the video is short and the view limited, some facts are indisputable.

In the encounter, Bieber can be seen standing toe-to-toe with a burly African-American male. It’s impossible to tell what’s transpiring between the two, but they are clearly having words about something.

Bieber is the first to put his hands on the man. He pushes against his chest. chest. Contrary to numerous reports, including a misleading report in GossipCop, the man did not throw a punch at Bieber.

Instead, he pushed him back in the face with an open hand. It didn’t even rise to the level of a slap. Bieber then retaliated with at least two punches.

The man appeared to be attempting to block Bieber’s punches rather than hitting back.

Finally, he grabbed the 5-foot, 7-inch tall singer and wrestled him to the ground. Bieber ended up on the floor with the man standing over him. There is no evidence in the video that the man punched Bieber. He simply appeared to be restraining him.

Yet, TMZ called it “an all out street brawl.”

If he a mind to, the man could have easily delivered a serious beat down to the loutish singer, who has acted out on several occasions in the past.

But the video clearly showed the man exercising restraint.

Afterward, Bieber posted a photo on Instagram and crowed “not a scratch on this pretty boy,” as if he’d really been in a fight.

Bieber followed up with a haughty selfie sneering into the camera. “No hesitation,” he wrote in the caption.

The fact is he put himself and his current tour at serious risk. He should be thanking the man for not pounding him senseless, instead of doing a totally unworthy end-zone dance on Instagram.

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