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Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was fined $50,000 for “aggressively pursuing, berating and making inadvertent contact with a game official,” the NBA announced Saturday.
The league announcement said the incident occurred with 10:59 left in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 126-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Atkinson was assessed his second technical foul of the game when he stormed onto the court following a no-call against Sam Merrill for driving Collin Gillespie after he collided with a referee before being escorted out of the game.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat on April 28, 2025 in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
Atkinson hit the nearby referee with his arm before the whistle blew.
Atkinson criticized the referees in a post-match press conference.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers during Game 2 of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on May 6, 2025. (Images by David Richard-Imagn)
“We had a free throw after three quarters against a team that [is 26th in fouls]”Atkinson said. “And the second free throw we got was after a miss. I’m not happy. Honestly, I thought the game had gotten out of hand. Honestly, some parts of the game felt like a circus. I don’t know if that’s what we want as a league.
“Certain characters in this league take liberties and we don’t confront them. And the game becomes reviews, challenges, going to the monitor for 20 minutes when we’re just trying to play basketball. I don’t think it’s good for the league, and I know it wasn’t good for us tonight. I thought they let the game get out of hand.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the first half against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on May 4, 2025. (Images by Ken Blaze-Imagn)
The Cavaliers fell to 29-21, while Phoenix improved to 30-19.
