Clippers' Paul George fined $35K for 'home cooking' criticism
The NBA levied a $35,000 against Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George on Thursday for his “home cooking” comments after Tuesday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
George voiced disappointment after the 110-103 loss in Philly. He went 3 for 15, his second-worst shooting performance of the season, but directed his frustration at the officials.
“I thought we played well, we lost by seven,” George told reporters. “There was some home-court cooking tonight, to say the least."
"I mean, it was 19 [fouls] to 11," he added. "You all figure out what those numbers are. It was 19 to 11."
The 76ers are 25-2 at home and 9-19 away. (For reference, the Clippers are 22-5 at home.) It was the fewest fouls called against a Clippers opponent all season, per NBC Sports.
George violated the rule prohibiting public criticism of officials. He must have known a big fine was coming since he’s uttered the exact same phrase before. During the 2014 playoffs, while with the Indiana Pacers, George made a similar remark to playing well against the Miami Heat before going deeper:
"I mean, you can't tell me we don't attack the basket as much as they attack the basket," George said. "You can't tell me we're not aggressive. Maybe we're too aggressive. But I feel like we're just as aggressive as they are attacking the basket and making plays at the rim. Maybe this was just home cooking."
He was fined $25,000 for the remarks. The increased fine this time around reflects the prior violation, NBA executive vice president for basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe told ESPN.
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