NBA fines Gerald Wallace $5,000 for flopping

Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace (45) jostles with Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) on a rebound in the second half of their NBA basketball game at Barclays Center, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, in New York. The Thunder won 117-111. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for flopping, joining teammate Reggie Evans as the only repeat offenders under the league’s new penalty system.

The league also gave Clippers veteran Chauncey Billups a warning Wednesday for falling backward after launching a jumper against Utah with little or no contact.

Wallace was defending a driving LeBron James on Saturday in Miami when he went tumbling backward after James put his right hand on Wallace’s body while dribbling with his left.

Wallace had previously been warned for a flop against New York on Nov. 26.

The league defines flopping as “any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player.”

Players are warned for a first offense, with fines beginning at $5,000 for the second flop up to $30,000 for a fifth.

Seven players have been determined to have flopped after review by NBA officials. Evans is the only other player to be caught twice.