NBA fines Markieff Morris, DeMarcus Cousins for Sunday’s altercation

Morris, a forward for the Lakers, was fined $35,000 for his larger role in the incident. Meanwhile, Houston’s big man took a $10,000 fine.

In a Tuesday announcement, the NBA league office issued a $35,000 fine to Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris and a $10,000 fine to Houston Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins related to their altercation in Sunday’s game. The incident led to an immediate ejection for Morris.

After reviewing the events, here’s how the league office described the situation. The announcement was made by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations and effectively its chief disciplinarian for these types of incidents:

The incident, which occurred with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter… began when Morris committed a Flagrant Foul 1 by knocking Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate to the ground.

Cousins continued the incident by shoving Morris to the floor, for which Cousins was assessed a technical foul. Morris further escalated the situation by charging after Cousins, shoving him, and continuing to aggressively pursue him. Morris was assessed a technical foul and ejected.

Houston head coach Stephen Silas said postgame that he appreciated Cousins’ willingness to stand up for Tate, a rookie.

Morris and Cousins will each be eligible to play in Tuesday’s rematch between the Rockets and Lakers, which tips off at 7:00 p.m. Central from Toyota Center. Both veterans will come off the bench.

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