Each player received a $25,000 fine for their conduct. Alonzo Adams / USA Today via Imagn Images
The two players who were at the center of a dustup near the end of Tuesday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans have been fined $25,000 each, the NBA announced Thursday.
The altercation began when Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort wrapped up New Orleans’ Jeremiah Fears as the Pelicans rookie was attempting a layup in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Shortly thereafter, Dort — whose Thunder led by nine and already had a win secured — shoved Fears in the chest. That led to more shoving between Dort and Fears, which players and staff from both teams tried to break up.
Fears, 19 and a first-round pick in June, remained so heated after the game that Pelicans security had to restrain him from escalating the conflict further inside the hallways of Paycom Center.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said he felt the officials did a poor job of calling the game in the fourth quarter.
“Good guys,” Daigneault said. “Good crew. But I thought they lost control of the game in the final minutes. I thought that altercation at the end started well before that with the (Saddiq) Bey and (Jaylin) Williams situation. I thought they could’ve managed that cleaner.
“And then the second thing is, I think that’s a foul on Dort. And if it was, they should put a whistle on that play regardless of the score and the time. If they do that, everybody stops playing and you can legislate the situation as you normally would.”
Dort scored 12 points Tuesday as the Thunder ended a two-game losing streak and improved to 38-10. Fears scored seven points off the bench for New Orleans, who fell to 12-37 this season.