On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in a game that came down to the wire. Although the matchup between the two teams was competitive and entertaining, a scuffle in the second half has dominated the headlines with Nick Young, D’Angelo Russell, and Greg Monroe ejected for their roles in the altercation.
Ahead of Sunday’s game against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers learned whether two of their best players would be on the floor against the defending champions. According to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times, Young and Russell have been fined and were able to avoid suspension by the league:
The NBA fined Nick Young $25,000 and D'Angelo Russell $15,000 for Friday's altercation. Greg Monroe was fined $35,000.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 19, 2017
No suspensions being handed out by the NBA was a little surprising considering how physical the on-court altercation was on Friday. Young and Monroe could’ve easily been given at least a one-game suspension for their roles in the incident, but instead with the largest fines of the three players penalized.
Head coach Luke Walton was also able to avoid a fine. The first-year head coach had some choice words for the way things went down on Friday night at the Staples Center, especially the involvement of security guard for the Bucks getting physical with rookie Brandon Ingram.
With the incident now behind them with no suspensions forcing changes to the lineup, the Lakers will turn their focus to LeBron James and the Cavaliers. The Lakers will host the defending NBA champions on Sunday night in hopes of snapping a four-game losing streak while the Cavaliers will attempt to bounce back from a 30-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.