The NBA has decided to rescind a technical foul called against Golden State Warriors' big man DeMarcus Cousins during Monday night's 121-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Cousin was hit with a 'T' with 4 minutes and 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, after he picked up Jeremy Lamb's shoe, which was lying near the free throw line, and tossed it into the crowd.
As a result of today's ruling, Cousins still has five technicals for the season. The NBA fines players $2,000 for every technical they accumulate through five, but increased the penalty to $3,000 for technicals 6-10 and ups it to $4,000 for 11-15. A 16th tech in the regular season results in a $5,000 fine and a one-game suspension, but the counter resets for the playoffs.
"Next time I'll just step on the shoe and roll my ankle, break it, tear an Achilles," Cousins said after the game (H/T ESPN). "Just leave it out there next time. I guess that's what they want. I'll keep that in mind."
Steph Curry joked that Cousins needs to treat any discarded shoes like he's playing horseshoes.
"He's got to be a little bit more delicate throwing it to the sideline -- like horseshoes," Curry said (H/T ESPN), "Just got to touch the line and sit down, not throw it in the stands. He's too strong, that's all. Too strong."
Despite the shoe debacle, Boogie had his best game since returning to action on January 18. He finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, as the Warriors improved to a Western Conference-best 43-17.