Kenny Atkinson fined $50,000 for contact with NBA official
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Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was fined $50,000 for “aggressively pursuing, berating, and unintentionally making contact with a game official,” the NBA announced Saturday.
The league’s announcement stated that the incident occurred with 10:59 remaining in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 126-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Atkinson received his second technical foul of the game when he charged onto the field as Sam Merrill hit a referee for using Collin Gillespie before being ejected from the game.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second half of Game 4 of the first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat on April 28, 2025 in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
Atkinson waved his arm towards the nearby referee before blowing the whistle.
Atkinson roughed up the referees in the post-match press conference.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers during Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs second round at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on May 6, 2025. (David Richard-Imagn Images)
“We had one free throw against a team at the end of three quarters. [is 26th in fouls]” said Atkinson. “And the second free throw we got was after the flop. I am not satisfied. I honestly thought the game was out of control. To be honest, some parts of the game felt like a circus. I don’t know if this is what we want as a league.
“Some of the characters in this league are taking liberties and we’re not standing up to them. And the game turns into evaluations, battles, we go to the monitor for 20 minutes just trying to play basketball. I don’t think that’s good for the league, and I know it wasn’t good for us tonight. I thought they let the game get out of control.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the first half against the Indiana Pacers during Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs second round at Rocket Arena on May 4, 2025 in Cleveland. (Ken Blaze-Imagn Images)
While the Cavaliers fell to 29-21, Phoenix improved to 30-19.
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