On Friday, Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations announced that San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray has been fined $25,000 for kicking the ball into the spectator stands.
The incident occurred at the Chesapeake Energy Arena at the conclusion of the Spurs’ 102-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 24. With the clock ticking towards the final seconds of the fourth quarter of a tie game, Luguentz Dort drilled a corner three-pointer at the buzzer to seal San Antonio’s fate. While the Thunder celebrated and the stunned Spurs began to make their way back towards the locker room, Murray noticed the ball on the floor and kicked it as hard as he could into the stands.
Murray recorded 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals while committing zero turnovers by the end of the night.
“I don’t make excuses. We fought hard. We lost the game by two points, three points at the buzzer, ain’t no excuses,” Murray told reporters at the postgame. “Everybody gets paid to do a job, and that’s to be a professional and be ready to go.”
With the loss, San Antonio’s record dropped to 16-12 while Oklahoma City became 13-19. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with a career-high 42 points in 38 minutes.
