Rajon Rondo gets a two-game suspension for starting a fight in the game against Brooklyn Nets: NBA News
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been banned for two games after his on-court scuffle during the Celtics loss to Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Nets forward Gerald Wallace has also been fined $35000 while C’s centre
Kevin Garnett will have to pay up $25000 “for escalating the matter”, the NBA announced on Thursday.
It all started when Kris Humphries made a hard foul on Kevin Garnett, who was trying to approach the rim from the baseline. Rondo became furious and in the heat of the moment, he lashed at Humphries, dragging him into the crowd.
The situation became violent in a matter of seconds. Gerald Wallace also lost his cool was also ejected for his second technical foul alongside Rondo and Humphries, while Garnett survived the ejection with a single technical.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was visibly displeased with the length of Rondo’s suspension but he did not wish to give his analysis on the matter.
"I don't want to get into that," Ainge said when asked about the suspension. "Maybe a little bit excessive in my mind. I think that it escalated into the crowd. I think that's probably part of it. But, anyways, it's disappointing.
It's frustrating. I'll talk to Rondo about it and I'll leave it at that."
Ainge statement revealed no hints of an appeal from Rondo and apparently the guard will have to sit out the Celtics game on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers and their fixture against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Sitting out because of disciplinary actions is nothing new for Rondo as this is his third suspension within a 9 month span. He was handed a two game ban in February when he threw the ball at an official at Detroit, and in April,
when he made contact with an official in the Celtics Eastern Conference quarterfinals in Atlanta. His history has to be a major factor as to why he received a two game ban compared to the standard one game suspension usually handed out to players with similar
offences.
Nets general manager Billy King also disagreed with the punishment doled out to Rondo. He told the media he and Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, had a lengthy discussion and they basically
disagreed on most of the matters. But Stu’s job calls for tough actions against players breaking the discipline and that was exactly what he did.
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