Paul Pierce fined $15,000 for hard foul on George Hill

Paul Pierce has been fined $15,000 for making "excessive and unneccessary contact" with George Hill during the Brooklyn Nets 103-86 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the NBA announced Tuesday. The contact occurred when Pierce chased down Hill during a fastbreak in the third quarter. Here's two different angles of the hard foul:

Pierce was ejected from the game after being assessed a flagrant two foul. Pierce was scoreless, going 0 for 7 from the field in 15 minutes of playing time, prior to the foul. He did not speak with reporters after the game and Jason Kidd did not address media until about 20 minutes later than usual.

Kidd said he felt the team was beginning to feel "comfortable" with losing and accepting defeat after the game, though Deron Williams disagreed and said it's "not fun" to lose. The Nets' season has been filled with frustration, losses and injuries. The latest blow came when center Brook Lopez broke his foot in the middle of his career year and leading the team in scoring.