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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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Following the Charlotte Hornets' last-second win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, star point guard LaMelo Ball made some postgame comments that came off as offensive. The NBA reviewed everything and has fined the star $100,000 for the incident.
NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN broke the news on social media.
"The NBA has fined Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball $100,000 for offensive and derogatory comments in postgame interview on Saturday."
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Ball was hyped up after the win and spoke his mind about what the Hornets did to win the game. He poured in 26 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in helping his team get the victory.
"We loaded up – no h***," Ball muttered on the court after Charlotte's controversial 115-114 win. "That's what we wanted, put a hand up and then live with the results."
Charlotte won the game on a last foul call on Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers called out the referees after the game for the blown call.
"I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call," Rivers said. "This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there has been an incorrect call made."
Rivers was adamant that Ball simply just fell down and that Antetokounmpo didn't touch him.
"LaMelo Ball fell," Rivers said. "He just fell down. Nobody was near him. He slipped on his own. We come up with the ball and the game is over. So back-to-back games now we have had a call made against us that is incorrect. We were lucky in Detroit the kid missed two free throws. Tonight LaMelo Ball made the free throws."
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After the fact, the referees admitted that the call was missed and that Ball wasn't actually fouled. But the result was final and the Hornets survived to get the big win over Milwaukee.
"During live play we called illegal leg-to-leg contact," Blair said. "During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play."
The win saw the Hornets move to a record of 5-7 on the season while the Bucks dropped to 4-9. Charlotte has been making inroads as they try to get themselves back to a place of contention in the Eastern Conference.
They will be taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday as they try to make it two straight wins. Cleveland has started the year out 14-0 so it could be a challenge for the young Hornets squad.
For the latest Hornets and NBA news, be sure to check out Newsweek Sports.
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