By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA has closed its investigation into the Sacramento Kings without issuing fines or penalties following a controversial late-game foul against the Golden State Warriors. The league’s inquiry centered on a play on Tuesday where head coach Doug Christie instructed his team to intentionally foul Seth Curry while the Warriors were already in the bonus. While the move sparked allegations of blatant tanking from opponents, the league’s official press release clarified the situation.
“The NBA has completed an investigation of the Sacramento Kings and Head Coach Doug Christie’s decision to foul intentionally late in the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors on April 7. The league’s investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts. The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game.”
While the Kings escaped sanction, the Orlando Magic were not as fortunate, receiving a $25,000 fine for violating injury reporting rules involving guard Anthony Black.
“The NBA announced today that the Orlando Magic organization has been fined $25,000 for violating league injury reporting rules. The Magic failed to accurately disclose the game availability status of Anthony Black prior to their game against the Detroit Pistons on April 6. Black was listed as ‘Out’ in Orlando’s initial injury report and subsequently played in the game.”