Miami Heat forward James Johnson (16) shoves Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince (12) after an flagrant foul by Hawks forward Taurean Prince during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 116-93.Steve Mitchell
New York: The NBA fined Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince and Miami Heat forward James Johnson $25,000 each on Friday after they tangled in a game this week.
Prince was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected and Johnson whistled for a technical foul and ejected in the incident, which occurred with 5:53 to play in the fourth quarter of Atlanta's 116-93 loss to the Heat on Wednesday in Miami.
NBA executive vice president for basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe said Prince was fined for "forcefully pulling down Heat center Hassan Whiteside" and Johnson for "escalating the situation in retaliation by throwing a forearm into the chest of Prince."
After grabbing an offensive rebound, Whiteside tried to go back up but was fouled hard by Prince. Johnson was the first Heat player to run over and shove Prince.
Whiteside, who landed on his back, was on the court for a couple of minutes before rising and playing on.
"The guy -- he just wrapped me up. It was a dangerous play," said Whiteside, who didn't know until after the game it was Prince who had slammed him to the court. "Fake tough guy -- that's what happened."
