Raptors' Amir Johnson suspended 1 game for throwing his mouthpiece at referee
NEW YORK Toronto center-forward Amir Johnson was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Tuesday for throwing his mouthpiece at a referee in the Raptors' loss at Portland on Monday night.
Johnson and referee David Jones both tugged at the ball following a Portland free throw in the third quarter. After Jones ejected him and started to walk away, Johnson threw his mouthpiece in Jones' direction.
Teammates had to restrain Johnson before he was escorted from the floor.
Johnson will miss Toronto's home game against Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
Johnson apologized after the game.
"I'm going to accept the consequences," Johnson said. "Whatever happens, happens. I apologize if I hurt anybody or I did anything wrong. It is what it is
CBSSports.com's Royce Young said the habit of a player grabbing a ball after a free throw is fairly common so it's strange that Jones wouldn't let him collect it.
"Not to condone Johnson's actions, but sometimes you can at least see where the players are coming from in their frustrations with officials," Young wrote. "Why wouldn't Jones give him the ball? That's a pretty standard practice thing at the free throw line. The one thing players won't stand for when it comes to officials is not being fair. And likely in Johnson's point of view, Jones was singling him out and showing him up."