Kevin Durant fined $25,000 for tossing ball into stands during Pacer game

Kevin Durant said after Friday’s game that he expected to get a “hefty fine” for tossing the ball into the stands at Barclays Center ... and his expectation proved correct. The NBA announced Saturday that KD has been fined $25,000 for the incident.

With 4:40 left in the third quarter of a close game, frustration got the better part of Durant. After drawing a foul, he suddenly threw the ball into the stands. That normally warrants an immediate ejection. But instead the refs gave him a technical and he continued in the game. Rick Carlisle made clear his position clear immediately but to no avail...

Carlisle, the veteran NBA coach now heading up Indiana, approached the refs demanding an explanation and calling for KD to be tossed much like the ball. The refs declined, but after the game, reacting to a question by Greg Logan of Newsday, they admitted they made a mistake, per a report from the league’s officiating site...

Also, post-game, Carlisle reiterated his complaint...

For his part, Durant said the toss was inadvertent and apologized, saying “it won’t happen again.

“I tried to hit the backboard. But I shouldn’t have did it,” he said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I thought I was at the gym by myself in a pickup game, not an NBA game. I can’t do that. I could have cost my team a game. But it won’t happen again.”

Durant said as well that he believed a big fine was in his future and it was.

• Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant fined $25K for throwing ball into stands - Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN