LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA handed Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond a $15,000 fine on Thursday for elbowing Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert in the head in a game on Tuesday.
Drummond was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected from the game with 4:09 left in the first half of the Pistons’ 112-89 win in Charlotte.
Drummond, 23, bounced back with 20 points and 17 rebounds in a win at Boston on Wednesday and is averaging 14.3 points and 13.2 boards.
The two road wins were much-needed confidence boosters for the Pistons, who had lost eight of their first nine away games this season.
Drummond’s ejection came when he and Hibbert battled for rebound position on what turned out to be a game-tying three-pointer by Kemba Walker.
His elbow appeared to glance off the back of Hibbert’s head, but since the Charlotte player had already exaggerated the force of contact from an opponent twice in the game, some were skeptical that Drummond’s blow warranted an ejection.
“I don’t make the rules. I just play the game,” Drummond said Tuesday. “They felt like I did something maliciously, but everybody who knows me knows that’s not the type of player I am. It’s part of the game. He did whatever he had to do to get the call, the refs made the call, and I was escorted out.”
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