NBA slaps fines for Butler, Morris Game 5 actions

The Miami Heat may have won Game 5 of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night and advanced to the second round. But the NBA doled out fines for two things Jimmy Butler and Markieff Morris — neither of whom played that night — did.

After Max Strus made a 3-pointer during the Heat’s 17-0 second quarter run, Butler thrusted his hips suggestively. The Miami Heat’s official Twitter account posted a clip of it. The NBA deemed it an “obscene gesture” and fined both Butler and the Heat $15,000.

And then later in the game, De’Andre Hunter stumbled out-of-bounds by the Heat bench after giving up the ball. Markieff Morris then held Hunter, which “prevented Hunter from completely reestablishing himself inbounds as he caught a pass from a teammate” according to the NBA. During the game, the referees assessed Morris with a technical foul. Now, two days after the game, he was fined $25,000.

Both Butler and Morris responded to the news of their fines on social media. Butler encouraged the NBA to announce Tyler Herro as the Sixth Man of the Year — drawing praise from P.J. Tucker, Adebayo and Herro himself. Morris said that luckily he can afford the fine.