The NBA fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 for conduct detrimental to the league on Thursday, alongside a $100,000 fine for the Indiana Pacers for violating the league’s player participation policy.
The NBA targeted Utah’s Feb. 7 matchup against the Orlando Magic and Feb. 9 matchup against the Miami Heat, in which Jazz forwards Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. were pulled from both games for the entire fourth quarter.
The league said the outcome of the games were “thereafter in doubt,” as both matchups were decided by a combined seven points. The Jazz blew a 94-87 lead at the start of the fourth in a 120-117 loss at Orlando, and they held on to beat the Heat 115-11 despite sitting their best players.
Earlier Thursday, the Jazz said Jackson, whom they acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the trade deadline, will have surgery on his left knee that could keep him out for the rest of the season.
As for Indiana, an independent physician conducted an investigation that concluded Pacers forward Pascal Siakam and two other starters could have played in the team’s Feb. 3 bout against the Jazz, including the option of playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the Pacers “could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy,” the league said.
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
