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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has been suspended for two games without pay by the NBA for elbowing Memphis' Mike Miller in the throat, Stu Jackson, the league's senior vice president of basketball operations, announced.
Bryant was given a flagrant foul I penalty for the incident, which occurred with 8:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 100-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the Staples Center. The league decided to upgrade the call to a flagrant foul II, which is assessed for "unnecessary and excessive contact."
Bryant will serve his suspension Sunday, when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz, and Tuesday at Utah.
Bryant sustained an inch-long cut near his left eye early in the third quarter Wednesday night after taking an elbow from a driving Miller.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Bryant as shouting, "I'll be back" as he left the court for treatment. In the fourth quarter, when Miller drove down the lane, Bryant drilled Miller with an elbow.
"Any player that was going to come down the lane at that particular time, I was going to let them know that they just can't walk through here," Bryant told reporters after the game. "I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that, and me as the leader of the ballclub, I have to take initiative to do that.
"Hopefully everybody else will see that, especially this being our home court. People come here and think it's Hollywood and all this other stuff, and they'll come down and look pretty and shoot jump shots and dunk the ball and stand over the ball and all this other cute stuff. We've got to stop that."
Bryant will lose $144,971.59 in salary for each game he sits out.
Source: espn.com
Bryant was given a flagrant foul I penalty for the incident, which occurred with 8:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 100-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the Staples Center. The league decided to upgrade the call to a flagrant foul II, which is assessed for "unnecessary and excessive contact."
Bryant will serve his suspension Sunday, when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz, and Tuesday at Utah.
Bryant sustained an inch-long cut near his left eye early in the third quarter Wednesday night after taking an elbow from a driving Miller.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Bryant as shouting, "I'll be back" as he left the court for treatment. In the fourth quarter, when Miller drove down the lane, Bryant drilled Miller with an elbow.
"Any player that was going to come down the lane at that particular time, I was going to let them know that they just can't walk through here," Bryant told reporters after the game. "I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that, and me as the leader of the ballclub, I have to take initiative to do that.
"Hopefully everybody else will see that, especially this being our home court. People come here and think it's Hollywood and all this other stuff, and they'll come down and look pretty and shoot jump shots and dunk the ball and stand over the ball and all this other cute stuff. We've got to stop that."
Bryant will lose $144,971.59 in salary for each game he sits out.
Source: espn.com