However, following a free throw from Jermaine Dailey, the Rainmen went on a 33–20 run, taking a one-point lead in the middle of the third quarter.

A three-pointer from Chris Commons with four minutes left in the third helped the Express regain their momentum and keep the game tight.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Rainmen were still only down by 3 points, and a field goal from Cliff Clinkscales tied the game with only a few minutes left in regulation.

[3][4] Midway through the final quarter, the Rainmen's Liam McMorrow fell hard on his left shoulder and his neck snapped back.

The team's front office declared that they did not feel safe taking part in the showdown after the day's events.

[9] The game was officially cancelled 40 minutes before it was scheduled, and the Express organization gave refunds to fans who had paid for tickets.

"[11] When the Rainmen were taking their bus back to the airport, they were stopped by Vito Frijia, a member of the NBL Canada executive committee and the owner of the London Lightning, who was on his way to the WFCU Centre.

"[10] When the Rainmen returned to Halifax, they discovered that they had been kicked out of their apartments, were booked for flights to outside the city, and weren't given their paychecks.

[12] Owner Andre Levingston later said in a statement, "Today is truly a black eye for our league, when the games is not safe for players to compete there is a problem.

Teammate Kevin Young said that he was told by some players on the Express that head coach Jones wanted them to intentionally injure particular members of the Rainmen and "take them out".

[15] The NBL Canada fined those involved in the brawl a total of $90,000, saying in a statement the following day, "The league takes this incident very seriously and we are working to address the matter to ensure it never happens in the future, and so that those who were responsible are held accountable."

Monteiro was barred from the NBL Canada as well as Clarós, and the players were suspended indefinitely from playing there while an investigation took place.

[8] In the following days, the assistant was fined an additional $4,000, because of "conduct detrimental to the league," but claimed the punishment was "unfair" and "the investigation was not thorough."