Desmond Bane will have to cough up $35,000 after launching a ball at OG Anunoby during the Knicks’ 106-100 win over the Magic on Sunday.
The Orlando guard was dinged for “throwing the game ball with force at an opponent in an unsportsmanlike manner,” the NBA said in a release on Monday.
Bane hucked the ball at Anunoby in the fourth quarter after the Knicks star was blocked on a layup attempt at the basket and Bane corralled the ball in bounds.
The situation would have made some semblance of sense had Bane been trying to save the ball or maintain the Magic’s possession of it by throwing it off Anunoby, but Bane was in bounds and not off balance.
Bane was given a technical foul for the fourth quarter incident and some pushing occured, but the situation never escalated further than that.
The Knicks star didn’t seem too upset over it after the game either, calling it “funny” and telling reporters that Bane is a “good dude.”
Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen seemed more befuddled by the whole thing during the MSG telecast.
“There is no reason for that, to throw it like that, to wind up and throw it,” Breen said. “‘What are you doing?’ says OG Anunoby.”
Former NBAer and current analyst DeMarcus Cousins also had a strong stance on how he would have reacted.
“I‘m not saying punch him in the face, but maybe slap the s–t out of him,” Cousins said on “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. “That’s crazy. Yeah, I’m not going for that; that’s crazy.”
Anunoby and Bane seemed to be cool with one another later on in the game after the cameras captured the two talking and smiling.
Anunoby finished the game with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
