This is the dramatic moment basketball players began fighting in the middle of a match as an argument between two opponents quickly turned physical.

Fans watched in shock as the match between the Mianyang team and the Liangshan team was interrupted by a sudden fight in Sichuan, in south-west China, on November 18.

Video footage shows the moments leading up to the clash as a member of the Mianyang team, who wore white jerseys, and another player grappled for the ball.

While fighting for a rebound, Liangshan team player No. 4 accidentally struck Mianyang team player No. 10 with his hand.

The latter lost control of his emotions and immediately hit back. Later, although the referee pulled away player number 4, other players of the Mianyang team stepped in and a violent conflict broke out between the two sides.

Amid the chaos, player No. 10, later named as NBL star Pang Zhenglin, fell to the ground and was attacked by the opposing team. Staff and teammates had to step in and rescue him before he wound up seriously injured.

Meanwhile, referees were forced to suspend the game. Many users on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, later blamed the judges for not reacting on time which some claimed could have prevented the conflict.

The Sichuan Provincial Basketball Association later commented on the incident and said it will conduct further investigation and impose penalties on the involved players.

The Association added it will assess and improve the performance of the game referees to prevent similar incidents from happening again.