NBA fines Kings coach Mike Brown $50K after outburst

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is restrained bt Malik Monk as he argues a call during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in Milwaukee. The Bucks won 143-142 in overtime. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

NEW YORK — The NBA fined Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown $50,000 on Tuesday for his court-storming outburst against a referee and his laptop-aided criticism of the officiating afterward.

Joe Dumars, the league’s head of basketball operations, issued the penalty to Brown for “aggressively pursuing a game official during live play, and for publicly criticizing the officiating” after his team’s 143-142 overtime loss to Milwaukee on Sunday night.

Brown was ejected in the fourth quarter. He stormed onto the court and began screaming at referee Intae Hwang. Kings players had to restrain him.

Brown later pulled out a laptop in his postgame media session to highlight a disparity in free throws and multiple calls that he found frustrating.

“The referees are human, and they’re going to make mistakes, but you just hope that there’s some sort of consistency and there’s some sort of communication between the refs,” Brown said after the game. “The refs tonight, they were great, they communicated with me all night. But in terms of consistency, you guys saw it right here. In my opinion, the consistency wasn’t here tonight.”

The Bucks won on Damian Lillard’s 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer.

Asked before Tuesday’s game against the Suns in Phoenix, Brown was asked if he got an explanation from the league.

“I’m still a little confused, but I’m OK with it. I wanted to illustrate a point and I did that,” Brown said. “Now’s the time to move forward.”

Brown caused laughter among the assembled media during his pregame chat, saying that the fine might affect his All-Star break plans and proceeded to plug a hotel in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada, several times. The resort town is about 2 1/2 hours from Sacramento.

“The fine is what it is,” Brown said. “My partner is upset with me because I was going to splurge and take her and my grandson skiing in Lake Tahoe at the All-Star break, but I called her and told her we probably won’t be able to do it unless the Ritz-Carlton, which is a terrific place, gives me a discount.”