Sacramento Kings coach Mike Malone was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Sunday for verbally abusing referee Marc Davis and not proceeding directly to the locker room after a Friday night loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kings coach Mike Malone fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of refs
Coach Mike Malone earned a hefty fine for verbally abusing game officials after a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Malone chased down Davis following the 91-90 Kings loss at FedEx Form after Davis had called a jump ball on the Kings' final offensive possession. With 1.9 seconds to play, Davis called the jump ball as Memphis forward Tayshaun Prince and Sacramento forward Rudy Gay collided. On the jump, the tipped ball eventually made it into the hands of Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who tossed the ball into the air to burn out the remainder of the game clock.
Malone, who had already done the damage to draw a fine, told the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones after the game he simply didn’t agree with Davis’ jump ball call.
“I thought it was an awful call,” Malone said. “I didn’t see a jump ball. It looked like to me that the official made the call and was running the other way. ... I still didn’t see the jump ball.”
Sactown Royalty: More on the Kings
Sacramento fell to 14-24 with the loss at Memphis, and the Kings continue on their six-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets before returning home to face the Indiana Pacers.
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