CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 07: LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets reacts after making a 3-pointer against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter during their game at Spectrum Center on April 07, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Jacob Kupferman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The National Basketball Association (NBA) fined Charlotte star LaMelo Ball $35,000 on Wednesday for “unnecessary and reckless contact” with Miami’s Bam Adebayo during the Hornets’ play-in win over the Heat.
One day after the Hornets ousted Miami from the play-in tournament with a nail-biting 127-126 overtime triumph, Ball was fined and assessed a flagrant 2 foul for the controversial play early in the second quarter.
Ball fell to the court after a shot attempt was blocked and reached out to grab at Adebayo’s foot, sending him crashing to the court.
Adebayo limped out of the contest and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was livid that Ball wasn’t ejected.
“I think it’s a stupid play. It’s a dangerous play,” Spoelstra said after the game.
“I don’t think that belongs in the game. Tripping guys, shenanigans. Someone has got to see that. And he should have been thrown out of the game for that.”
But Ball remained in the game and delivered the winning basket. He won’t be suspended for Charlotte’s must-win second play-in game.
They will host the Orlando Magic on Friday for the Eastern Conference eighth seed and a first-round playoff series against top-seeded Detroit.
Ball, who apologized after the game, saying he’d been hit on the head and “didn’t know where I was,” was fined an additional $25,000 for using profane language during a live postgame television interview.
