LaMelo Ball is not quite getting off scot-free after his takedown of Bam Adebayo on Tuesday night.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that they are fining the Charlotte Hornets star Ball a sum of $35,000 for his dirty trip of the Miami Heat counterpart Adebayo during Tuesday’s 9/10 Eastern Conference play-in tournament game. Additionally, Ball is retroactively being given a flagrant 2 foul for the incident.
On top of that, the NBA is also fining Ball a separate sum of $25,000. In their release, the league stated that Ball used profane language during a live television interview after the game.
The former All-Star Ball grabbed at Adebayo’s ankle during a sequence in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. (see the video here). Adebayo landed hard on his tailbone as a result and ended up missing the remainder of the game as the Hornets squeaked out a narrow 127-126 win over the Heat in overtime.
No whistle was blown at the time however, and the officials later stated the imminent change of possession on the play meant that the sequence was not reviewable in real time for a possible flagrant. But after a postgame review, Ball is now being punished by the NBA with a fine and an upgrade to a flagrant 2 for the takedown of Adebayo.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that Ball should have been ejected for the “stupid” play. While the retroactive punishment comes as too little, too late for Miami now that their season is over, it could still matter for Ball and the Hornets if they make a playoff run this season due to the accrual of flagrant foul points.
