Raptors forward Amir Johnson suspended one game for mouthpiece throwing incident

The NBA suspended Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson for one game without pay Tuesday for throwing his mouthpiece and hitting a referee, the league announced.

Johnson threw his mouthguard at referee David Jones after the two tugged at the ball following a free throw in the Raptors' 92-74 loss to the Portland Trailblazers on Monday.  Johnson had to be restrained by teammates and was ejected with 5:05 left in the third quarter. He finished with four points and four rebounds before getting tossed.

Johnson is averaging 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22 games this season. Johnson will miss Wednesday's home game against the Brooklyn Nets.

"I guess the ref didn't let me have the ball so we kind of got into a tug of war," Johnson said. "No words were really said and he rejected me out of the game and I kind of lost my cool from there. My teammates know me, my parents know me ... I never lose my cool. I never said anything to a ref or got mad. The only techs I've gotten were for hanging on the rim or slapping the backboard."

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