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The NBA fined Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown $50,000 for lunging at a referee during Tuesday's 143-142 loss to the Bucks and for showing several controversial plays on his personal computer during the post-game press conference, actions in which Brown wanted to prove to reporters that the referees had made a mistake.
Joe Dumars, the league's head of basketball operations, sanctioned Brown for "aggressively pursuing a referee with the game in play and publicly criticizing referees" after his team's loss.
Brown was ejected in the fourth quarter after storming the court and yelling at referee Intae Hwang. The Kings players had to restrain their coach to avoid further damage.
In the press room Brown pulled out a laptop computer and highlighted the disparity in referee judgment on free throws and the multiple decisions he found to be wrong.
"Referees are human and they're going to make mistakes, but you just hope there's some kind of consistency and some kind of communication between the referees," Brown said. "The referees tonight were great, they communicated with me all night. But in terms of consistency, you saw it right here. In my opinion, the consistency didn't exist here tonight."
Responds to the fine
Before the game against the Suns the Kings coach was asked about the penalty: "I'm still a little confused, but I'm fine. I wanted to illustrate a point and I did. Now it's time to move on." said Brown, who drew laughs from the assembled media during his pregame talk, saying the fine could affect his All-Star break plans and proceeded to book a hotel in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada, several times. The resort town is about two and a half hours from Sacramento.
"The fine is what it is," Brown said.
"My partner is upset with me because I was going to splurge and take her and my grandson skiing at Lake Tahoe during the All Star break, but I called her and told her we probably won't be able to do it unless the Ritz -Carlton, which is a great place, gives us a discount."