The NBA announced on Saturday that Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo has been fined $50,000 for an outburst toward an official after the team’s 106-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. According to the league, Adebayo was fined for “making inappropriate contact with and directing profane language toward a game official” shortly after missing a potential game-winning shot.
With less than two seconds to play, the Heat were trailing by two and taking the ball out on the sideline. Adebayo broke open on the wing, pump-faked and then heaved up a prayer that hit the top of the backboard. He thought that he had been fouled, and there did appear to be some contact from Julius Randle, but no call was made. The league’s Last Two Minute report deemed it a correct no call.
A frustrated Adebayo then approached the official in an inappropriate manner, which resulted in the fine. He continued to express his emotions in the locker room after the game.
“It wasn’t even about the last play,” Adebayo said. “It was throughout the whole game. I don’t really get too confrontational, I don’t really get into it with the refs because it’s their job, but it’s our job too. Like, dudes fighting for everything on the line, so it’s like, have the decency to look me in my eyes when I’m having a conversation.
“Obviously we lost, I don’t understand why they think we can’t be emotional. We’re going to be emotional. Win or lose games, if we have a conversation and it gets heated, it’s not because I just want to go at you. It’s because sh–‘s happening in the game. Like I said, have the decency to look a man in his eye and not walk away. That to me is utterly disrespectful in a man’s game.
“I had the decency enough to wait until late after the game to have my conversation. That’s what you’re supposed to do as a man — face to face. But when you walking away and stuff like that, it’s truly disrespectful and I feel like stuff should happen when they do that because when we get emotional, we walk away, we get tech’d up and we get fined, and I think that’s crazy.”
Adebayo finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in defeat, as the Heat fell to 29-33 on the season. They are now 5-9 since sending Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors ahead of the trade deadline, and have dropped to seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
With a 5.5-game gap between them and the sixth-place Detroit Pistons, it appears the Heat are destined for another trip to the Play-In Tournament.
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