LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis was fined $25,000 for the verbal abuse of a referee that saw him ejected from a game against Minnesota, the NBA said Friday.
Davis blew his stack in the Pelicans’ 120-102 loss to the Timberwolves in New Orleans on Wednesday.
He was leading New Orleans with 17 points when he was called for an offensive foul in the second quarter and then slapped with a technical for arguing the call — with teammate DeMarcus Cousins stepping in to pull him away from the officials.
On the next possession, Davis was called for a defensive foul and argued again, earning another technical and the ejection.
Officiating crew chief Ken Mauer said Davis was disciplined for charging toward an official and “cursing, swearing, using foul language”.
Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA executive vice president of basketball operations said in a statement that Davis was fined for “verbally abusing a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection”.
© Agence France-Presse