The Larry Sanders Show has been panned by the NBA.
The forward of the Milwaukee Bucks was suspended two games without pay and Indiana Pacers forwards David West and Danny Granger were fined $25,000 apiece by the NBA on Friday for their roles in a skirmish in Thursday’s game.
Sanders was suspended for Saturday’s game vs. New Jersey and Monday’s game vs. Toronto. The ban is for initiating an altercation, failing to leave the court in a timely manner and actions following his ejection with 3:29 left in Milwaukee’s 118-109 loss at Indiana.
Sanders already had one technical foul when he ran into Granger, knocking him to the floor. He argued the call and received another technical for an automatic ejection.
West and Pacers guard George Hill came to the aid of Granger and exchanged words with Sanders as players from both teams stepped between them. Sanders appeared to poke West in the face, escalating the incident as Granger moved toward Sanders, shouting at him.
Sanders continually tried to circle the pack of players to get at Granger but was restrained each time by teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
The suspension does not come at a good time for the Bucks, who are three games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with just four games remaining.
In his second season, Sanders is a backup power forward and center averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in just under 12 minutes per game.