Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young has been fined for directing coarse language at a referee amid a disagreement over a game-ending play.
The NBA on Thursday announced a $20,000 fine for the All-Star point guard after he was seen mixing it up with an official following the final buzzer in the Hawks' loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Officially, Young was fined for using "inappropriate language."
To boot, the league said the official had correctly called the play in question which prompted Young's protest.
Young was bowled over on the play, when he tried to set a pick to free up teammate Danilo Gallinari so that Gallinari could receive an inbounds pass.
With Young on the floor and seemingly unable to receive a pass from Gallinari, the game's final shot fell into the lap of Gallinari, who heaved up a desperation 3-pointer that clanked off the rim.
Young quickly confronted the ref to plead his case for a foul on Dallas' Willey Cauley-Stein, who sent Young to the ground on the attempted pick.
The referee, crew chief Josh Tiven, told reporters after the game that no penalty was called because the contact was deemed "incidental."
The NBA on Thursday said Tiven and his crew had gotten the call right.
"Under the playing rules, Dallas' Willie Cauley-Stein was entitled to a normal step on a screen from behind, which he took, and which led to incidental and legal contact between Cauley-Stein and Young," the league said.
Young scoffed at the suggestion that he would risk taking a dive in hopes of drawing a foul on the game's final play, ESPN reported.
"I'm not going to run away from the ball with four seconds left and we're trying to win the game," he said. "I'm not going to fall just to fall at the end. That's just the most frustrating part. Not really having an opportunity to make a play at the end is just really frustrating."