Desmond Bane’s decision to launch a ball at OG Anunoby is going to cost him.
The NBA fined Bane $35,000 on Monday, one day after he launched a ball at Anunoby during the Orlando Magic’s 106-100 loss to the New York Knicks. The move resulted in a small altercation at Madison Square Garden and a technical foul.
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Midway through the fourth quarter of that contest, Bane was chasing down Anunoby on a fast break. While Jalen Suggs appeared to block Anunoby at the rim, both guys went tumbling down under the basket. Bane came running up behind, grabbed the ball and launched it at Anunoby.
It wasn’t just a little toss, either. Bane, who wasn’t falling out of bounds himself, wound up and fired the ball at Anunoby’s back hard before pointing at the officials as if the ball was out on Anunoby.
Anunoby got up and shoved Bane in the chest, but the two were quickly separated. Bane was hit with a technical foul, and the game continued on.
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This marks the second such incident with Bane in as many months. Bane was ejected from the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks in early November after he launched a ball toward Onyeka Okongwu’s head. That one appeared far less conspicuous, but resulted in him getting ejected for both a flagrant foul and an ensuing technical.
Bane finished with 16 points on Sunday in the loss. The 27-year-old is averaging 18.3 points, 4.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game this season, his first with the Magic.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 30 points and nine assists in the win, which pushed them to a near-perfect 13-1 at home this season. Anunoby finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Hart added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
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Suggs led the Magic with 17 points on Sunday. Paolo Banchero added 16 points, too. Orlando lost star Franz Wagner in the first quarter due to an ankle injury, which is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks.
The Magic, now 14-10, will take on the Miami Heat next on Tuesday night.
