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Bobby Portis is paying the price for his brutal punch on Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic ... as the team has slapped him with an 8-game ban.

Portis laid out Mirotic at practice on Tuesday ... sending him to the hospital with a fractured jaw and a concussion.

Nikola was discharged from the hospital later that day, but will likely need surgery -- forcing him to sit out at least 4 weeks.

The incident went down after the Bulls forwards got into it with trash-talk and shoving. Multiple reports claim Mirotic was the aggressor -- repeatedly charging at Bobby before being put down.

Which is probably why Portis only got 8 games. Could've been a lot worse.

The Big Baller Brand is conquering social media now too ... with the Ball family's new emoji line rocketing up the charts in the App Store after just 1 day on the market.

LaVar, Lonzo and the rest of the fam dropped "Big Baller Brand Emojis" on Oct. 17 -- which feature the Balls doing everything from dancing to dunking to shoe designing ... for $1.99 a pop.

On Wednesday, the App had already reached #2 on the Top Paid App charts ... right underneath Arimoji by Ariana Grande (#1).

To be fair, Ariana's app features the singer playing with adorable puppies -- good luck competing with that.

Kobe Bryant says Gordon Hayward needs to let his emotions run wild -- "Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk." -- it's all part of bouncing back from a catastrophic injury.

Of course, Kobe knows what he's talking about -- he tore his achilles during a game in 2013 (still made his free throws) -- and fought his way through rehab to get back on the court.

So, after Mamba watched the Celtics star go down hard on Tuesday ... he penned a motivational note to the NBA star with some deeply personal advice.

"Time to move on and focus on doing everything in your power to prepare for surgery, ask all the questions to be sure you understand fully the procedure so that you may visualize it in your subconscious while being operated on and better the chance of it’s success."

"It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that prior to this injury were taken for granted."

Kobe says in the long run, Hayward will have a deeper appreciation for the simple things like "being able to stand, walk, run" and it'll motivate him to train harder.

Here's a pretty cool moment ... Kyrie Irving took a few moments to dap up LeBron James' kids after the Celtics lost to the Cavs on Tuesday -- and it was all caught on video.

You know the backstory ... Kyrie left Cleveland during the off-season amid reports he just wasn't getting along with LeBron. Seemed like a pretty nasty split.

But things seemed cool between the families after the game -- when Kyrie bumped into Bron's sons LeBron Jr. and Bryce and stopped to give 'em a handshake and bro hug.

So ... water under the bridge???

Don't worry too much about Gordon Hayward ... 'cause God's got his back -- so says his family.

"Thanks to everyone for all the messages, prayers & love," Hayward's dad tweeted late Tuesday night ... after his NBA superstar son snapped his ankle in his 1st game with the Celtics.

"We know that Gordon will be fine & God has big plans for him! #Godisgoodallthetime," he added.

Hayward's wife, Robyn, also believes he's in good hands ... posting this on Wednesday morning:

FYI, Gordon hurt himself trying to catch an alley-oop against the Cavs in Cleveland. The official diagnosis was a fractured left ankle ... putting the rest of his season in jeopardy.

Warning: The following video is extremely graphic.

Eagles star Chris Long is droppin' a fat stack of cash on youth education in America ... pledging his entire 2017 NFL base salary -- an even $1 MIL -- to various initiatives.

Long just announced that his last 10 game checks will go to 4 organizations supporting educational equality ... after donating his first 6 checks to college scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia.

"I think we can all agree that equity in education can help affect change that we all want to see in this country," Chris told The AP.

"We have such a great platform as football players and hopefully fans get behind it."

If this sounds familiar, it's probably 'cause Colin Kaepernick also made a million-dollar pledge last year ... donating $1 mil of his NFL money to "organizations working in oppressed communities."

Didn't take long for O.J. Simpson to reach out to his old NFL pals -- he called Eric Dickerson THE NIGHT he was released from prison ... this according to the Hall of Famer himself.

"He's good. He's really good," Dickerson told TMZ Sports ... "He's trying to get me to hang out with him."

Dickerson and Simpson were pretty tight before O.J. got locked up and have remained friendly throughout the years.

McKayla Maroney says she was sexually assaulted by the team doctor for the U.S. women's gymnastics team and Olympic team -- and the abuse started when she was 13 years old.

The former U.S. Olympic gymnast went public about the alleged abuse Wednesday morning -- saying Dr. Larry Nassar repeatedly molested her under the guise of administering "treatment."

The 21-year-old says, "Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving 'medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.'"

"It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first National Team training camps, in Texas, and it didn't end until I left the sport."

"It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated.' It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my Silver."

Maroney says Nassar gave her a sleeping pill on a flight to Tokyo when she was 15 -- "and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a 'treatment.' I thought I was going to die that night."

McKayla joins a long list of women accusing Nassar of sexual misconduct -- 125 women, including former gymnasts, have already filed suit against him for alleged incidents over the years.

Master P has a message for Colin Kaepernick ... WHO NEEDS THE NFL ... telling TMZ Sports if the league won't let Kaep ball, he's down to help Colin start up his own shop, and take down the shield.

P knows about sports startups, his Global Mixed Gender Basketball league is off to an incredible start, attracting big name talent like the Gonzalez Twins, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and Metta World Peace.

When we got him out in L.A. we had to ask P what he thought about Kaep's situation, and P had a very simple answer, if you can't join 'em, beat 'em.

"I'll help him start his own league. I think he should, I mean he's a great football player. I think the NFL should have some competition."

P's point is that the only way Colin can ensure his right to demonstrate any way he wants is to have some ownership, and that's exactly what he wants to do with his upstart league.

WARNING ... this is one of the most disgusting sports injuries you'll ever see.

NBA star Gordon Hayward suffered a brutal lower leg injury just 5 minutes into his Boston Celtics debut against the Cleveland Cavs Tuesday night ... and it's absolutely cringeworthy.

Hayward went up for an alley-oop from new teammate Kyrie Irving when he landed hard on the court. He was immediately tended to by medical personnel and was taken away on a stretcher.

Ezekiel Elliott is eligible to play once again ... after being granted a temporary restraining order from a New York Southern District Court.

As a result, Zeke's suspension has been put on hold for 14 days -- meaning the Cowboys RB can take the field for the team's next two games against the 49ers and Redskins, barring any further proceedings.

Last Thursday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction that prohibited the league from imposing the six-game suspension.

Odell Beckham Jr. hopped out of bed a week after undergoing ankle surgery and the look on his face says it all -- it ain't no fun.

The New York Giants WR was seen for the first time since suffering a horrific left ankle injury last weekend against the San Diego Chargers. He was leaving his crib in crutches and a large walking boot and on his way to physical therapy.

OBJ underwent season-ending surgery and posted a pic on Instagram from his hospital bed thanking everyone for their prayers ... but it's pretty clear he'd rather be prepping for the Seahawks on Sunday.

#GetWellSoon

4:18PM PT -- The Bulls released a statement addressing the incident.

"Chicago Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic had a physical altercation during today's practice. As a result of the incident, Mirotic suffered a concussion and maxillary fractures. Surgery is likely required. Mirotic is out indefinitely."

Bulls forward Bobby Portis socked teammate Nikola Mirotic and broke his face and gave him a concussion at practice today.

Portis and Mirotic reportedly got into a shoving match ... that ended with Bobby cheap-shotting Nikola ... The Vertical reported.

Mirotic was taken to the hospital with multiple broken bones in his face. He was also evaluated for a concussion. The report says N.M. has since been released from the hospital.

Mirotic was expected to begin the season as the team's starting PF, ahead of Portis.

Rick Pitino is suing Adidas in federal court ... claiming that his good name has been dragged through the mud as a result of the company's dirty tactics.

As we previously reported, a top Adidas exec has been charged with conspiring to funnel money to top basketball recruits ... including $100k to a UL prospect.

Pitino's attorney filed the suit in a Kentucky federal court earlier today ... asking for compensatory and punitive damages -- but also saying this is about more than money. He wants to clear his name.

"It is Coach Pitino's vehicle for proving that he had nothing to do with Adidas' outrageous, wrongful, and illegal conspiracy."

O.J. Simpson's inner circle now includes a blast from the past ... F. Lee Bailey.

O.J. and his former famed criminal defense attorney in the murder trial had dinner Monday night at the Palms Hotel in Vegas. A lot's changed since Bailey and Simpson's famous "Dream Team" helped O.J.'s acquittal in 1995.

Simpson, of course, just got released from prison. As for Bailey ... he was disbarred in 2001 and is reportedly broke.

Greg Hardy's first MMA opponent has a message for the former NFL star ...

I'M GETTIN' THE W, SON!!

FYI, Greg's fight is on Nov. 4 at Rise of a Warrior 21 ... and we got the man who's gonna meet him in the cage -- Joe "The Legend" Hawkins -- to give us the low-down on their scrap.

Joe's got nothing but respect for Hardy ... but told TMZ Sports he ain't gonna take it easy on him.

"I’m gonna be incredible," Hawkins said. "I see the referee raising my hand."

Joe's also inviting Dana White to grab a ringside seat ... 'cause his goal is to make it to the UFC one day.

First, he's gotta beat Hardy ... who's also been training his ass off in camp.