NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Sunday for recklessly throwing the basketball toward a referee and into the stands during a playoff loss.
DeRozan was whistled for a technical foul and ejected for the incident, which came with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter of San Antonio’s 117-103 home loss to Denver on Saturday.
DeRozan, who flipped the ball in frustration after a foul call, averaged 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists a game this season for the Spurs and has averaged 23.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocked shots a game in the playoffs.
The Nuggets leveled the best-of-seven first-round playoff series at 2-2 with game five Tuesday at Denver and game six Thursday at San Antonio.
The series winner will face either Portland or Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
© Agence France-Presse