NBA Fines Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis for Kicking Ball Into Stands
Frustrations were high at times for the Dallas Mavericks during the team's 130-92 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, as there wasn’t a lot going well for them throughout the game.
Kristaps Porzingis displayed his frustration by kicking the basketball into the stands with 8:21 remaining in the game—violating the NBA's rules about player conduct. As a result, Porzingis received a technical foul and was ejected from the game.
NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell announced on Wednesday that Porzingis received a $15,000 fine for kicking the game ball into the spectator stands.
While unintentional, Porzingis' kick of the ball ended up connecting with a fan in the stands. He made sure to apologize to the fan on his way to the tunnel and attributed it to just being in the heat of the moment.
“Just the whole game, not going our way at all. Especially not my way at all." Porzingis said.
"The frustration accumulated, and I reacted wrong. I want to apologize to all those fans that were sitting right there. It wasn’t my intention to kick the ball toward them at all. Just frustration on my side.”
It's not often that a player is thrown out of a game for kicking a ball into the crowd, but it's happened in recent years for the Mavericks. During a matchup with the Indiana Pacers back in 2019, Luka Doncic was ejected for kicking the ball into the stands after a made basket.
The Mavericks had things rolling prior to the blowout loss to the Warriors—having won 10 of their previous 12 games. One of those outings was a 99-82 win over the Warriors before Klay Thompson made his season-debut.
Staying composed even when things aren't clicking may sound a bit like a cliche, but it is important, nevertheless. Complaining too much to the referees or kicking the basketball are certainly examples of what should be avoided for the Dallas Mavericks going forward.
