The NBA has suspended Lakers forward Lamar Odom one game without pay for leaving the bench area during an altercation.
NBA executive vice president of operations Stu Jackson ruled Tuesday that Odom left the "immediate vicinity" of the bench after teammate Trevor Ariza's hard foul on Portland's Rudy Fernandez with 2.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter Monday touched off a skirmish between the teams.
Odom will miss the Lakers' game in Houston on Wednesday.
Broderick Turner of the LA Times continues...
"We're disappointed with and we disagree with the league's ruling," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said.
Despite being short-handed, the Lakers got some good news when the league said Ariza wouldn't be suspended for his flagrant foul on Fernandez. Ariza was ejected after laying out Fernandez on a fastbreak layup attempt with 2.2 seconds left in the third quarter and the Lakers down, 83-55.
Ariza was assessed a Type 2 flagrant foul, which carries an automatic ejection.
"Ariza will not be further disciplined," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said."Every flagrant foul is reviewed to see if it warrants a suspension. This was determined not to be the case."
After the Lakers were defeated, 111-94, by Portland, Odom was asked if he was concerned that he might get suspended.
"No, I stayed on the bench," Odom said after the game. "I stood up. I didn't go nowhere. They'll [the NBA] see it and they'll see I didn't go nowhere."
Here's the play and the aftermath...
((HT: CSNW/NBA))
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