Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was fined $20,000 by the NBA on Friday for directing inappropriate language toward game officials and for failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection.
Bickerstaff apparently didn’t like what he saw out of his team in Wednesday’s game against the visiting Charlotte Hornets. He took out his frustration on referee Natalie Sago, with his words resulting in two technical fouls and an ejection with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.
The Hornets went on to hand the Cavaliers (36-26) their fifth loss in six games, courtesy of a 119-98 decision.
“That’s me losing my composure,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “I apologized to the guys, I apologized to my staff. Apologize to my kids. Nobody should see that. That’s on me needing to improve and be better. It’s a combination of frustrations, obviously, but I need to stay in the fight. I need to be better.”
Bickerstaff, 42, has a 63-82 record during his three seasons as head coach of the Cavaliers.
Cleveland will face the 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday night.
–Field Level Media