CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Before leaving the court Wednesday night, Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff got his monies worth with referee Natalie Sago after being ejected.
Now he’ll be sending $20,000 to the league office.
Bickerstaff was fined Friday by the NBA for “directing inappropriate language toward game officials and for failing to leave the court in a timely manner,” Byron Sprunell, president of league operations, said in a statement announcing the fine.
Bickerstaff received two technical fouls and was ejected with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter of a 119-98 loss to the Hornets Wednesday night after protesting a blocking foul called by Sago on Cedi Osman.
“That’s me losing my composure,” Bickerstaff said following the game. “I apologized to the guys, I apologized to my staff, I apologized to my kids. Nobody should see that. That’s on me. That’s a combination of frustrations, obviously, but I need to stay in the fight, and so I need to be better.”
The Cavaliers, who have slipped from the third to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, have lost five of their last six as they travel to Philadelphia Friday night.




