The NBA has announced their punishment for Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and forward Kelly Oubre Jr. The 76ers’ duo have each been fined $50,000 for their reactions to a non-call at the end of their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
From ESPN, “Joe Dumars, NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said in a release that Nurse was fined for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing game officials” and Oubre was fined for “verbally abusing and directing an obscene gesture toward game officials.”
Both were incensed after the game ended, approaching and yelling at the referees on the court. Nurse had to be held back by his assistants as he berated them for what he perceived as a missed call on the final play of the game.
Oubre drove to the basket and contact was made by Paul George but the whistle wasn’t blown. Nurse and Oubre thought there was enough contact that a whistle should have been blown. No foul was called and the Clippers escaped with a 108-107 victory.
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While Nurse and Oubre certainly earned the fines they received from the NBA, it turned out that they were correct. In a pool report after the game, crew chief Kevin Scott admitted that a foul should have been called on George with Oubre receiving two foul shots with a chance to win the game.
Oubre did offer an apology for losing his cool. He was just looking to show support for his head coach, who was going to bat for his players. Oubre’s interaction with the referees after the game has since gone viral, as he was seen cursing them out.
The loss was a big one for the 76ers, who are now in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They are now 1.5 games behind the sixth place Indiana Pacers for the final spot outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The 76ers could move one game closer to climbing out of the Play-In and gain some ground in the standings on Friday night. They will be heading on the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game that will hae major implications on the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
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