Delonte West has been fined $25,000 for sticking his finger in Gordon Hayward's ear during Monday's triple-overtime Dallas-Utah game, the league announced Wednesday. The NBA is calling it a "physical taunt."
West admitted after the game that he crossed the line.
"I went over the line," West said. "I saw some lint in his hair, and I wanted to get it out for him. Seriously, we were like two warriors out there. But I forgot the NBA is a gentlemen's game. They want us to battle and scrap, but they want us to do it nicely."
Hayward said he "wanted to fight" West for the stunt. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was not happy about West's move.
"I made it clear to him that that's unacceptable," Carlisle said Wednesday. "He's a competitive guy. But your competitiveness has to manifest in the right way. By and large, he's had a tremendous year for us. And he's done the right things. I see that as an isolated incident and I don't see it happening again."
