Larry Sanders lost his mind and now he'll lose his eligibility for the next two games.
The NBA has suspended the Milwaukee Bucks forward for two games after he caused quite the scene during a Thursday night loss to the Indiana Pacers, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Pacers forwards Danger Granger and David West will be fined $25,000 each, but not suspended, for their roles in the exchange.
Sanders will not be available to play during home games against the New Jersey Nets on Saturday and the Toronto Raptors on Monday. He will be available to rejoin the Bucks for the final two games of their regular season, against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and the Boston Celtics on Thursday. The Bucks are currently 29-33, three games out of the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed.
Sanders is making $1.8 million this season. A pro-rated portion of his lost wages based on that salary for a two game suspension without pay equals roughly $54,000.
Before finally departing for the locker room, Sanders ran around the court in anger after receiving the second of two technical fouls, argued with an official, screamed at three opponents, and then tried to shake off teammates and a coaching staff member in an effort to keep the confrontation going.
The incident was the culiminating event in a game that featured plenty of chippiness. Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Tyler Hansbrough had an ugly collision earlier in the game and Sanders received his first technical foul for refusing to relent as West prodded him down the stretch.
Push came to shove with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, as Sanders ran over Granger will trying to play defense in the paint. Already fired up, Sanders let off some steam in the direction of an official, got whistled for a second technical foul and then started barking at Pacers guard George Hill. The exchange led Granger and West to stand up for their teammate, a concept which did not appeal to Sanders, who pointed his finger in the face of West before being restrained by referees and teammates.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel got in the mix to calm things down, but then Sanders went running around in a large, looping circle, looking for new opportunities to confront West. Finally, he was escorted off the court. A volatile and somewhat amusing scene, to be sure.
The Pacers held on to win the game 118-109. Sanders finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks in 18 minutes.
