Bulls’ Gibson fined $25,000, apologizes for actions
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Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson (22) and Miami Heat power forward Chris Andersen (11) get in a shoving match following Nazr Mohammed foul on LeBron James during game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at the United Center in Chicago Friday. |
Taj Gibson was fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official in Wednesday's Game 2 at Miami.
The incident happened early in the fourth quarter. Gibson was called for a technical foul, seemed surprised at the call, then grew angrier and got a second technical. He appeared to be spewing profanities when pulled off the court by Bulls security director Eric Buck.
Gibson sent out an apology via Twitter on Friday afternoon.
"I want 2 apologize Bulls and NBA fans 4 my actions. Got 2 keep my passion focused on my team. Get hyped for tonight Chicago!" it read.
Meanwhile, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Mario Chalmers' foul against Joakim Noah in Game 2 was upgrade to a grade one flagrant by the league office. Noah set a screen on Chalmers, who responded by smacking Noah across the neck with his arm.
Hinrich still out:
Kirk Hinrich's MRI exam on his injured left calf didn't provide much insight. Hinrich missed his sixth straight game Friday.
"It basically showed the same as the initial one," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It improved some, but he's got to keep working at it. He's in a holding pattern. He did a little bit more on the bike, (felt) a little bit better, but he still has a ways to go."
Luol Deng missed his fifth straight game after a bad reaction to a spinal tap administered last week. Despite rumors to the contrary, Derrick Rose did not suit up for Game 3.
Rough stuff a two-way street:
Before Game 3, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gave his thoughts on the physical style of this series.
"By nature, it's physical," he said. "The thing I find humorous is the fact that people paint us to be the physical team. You look at the start of the game (Wednesday), that's usually what happens. You look at the games in which we've won against them, the next game, they come back and guys are flying all over the place.
"So this isn't a one-way street. This is a two-way street. But we know how it's going to be called. We can't allow that to impact us in any way, shape or form. Just get out there and get the job done."
Bull horns:
Tickets for Monday's Game 4 are still available. It's a 6 p.m. start at the United Center. ... New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis, a Chicago native, was at Friday's game. ... Miami's bench outscored the Bulls' reserves 36-8 in Game 3.
