LaMelo fined, assessed flagrant 2 for tripping Adebayo

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has been fined $35K and retroactively assessed a flagrant-2 foul for tripping Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo during Charlotte's play-in victory Tuesday.

Adebayo suffered a back injury during the incident, which occurred in the second quarter. He missed the remainder of the contest as a result.

As an off-balance Adebayo attempted to bring down a rebound while standing on one leg near the baseline, Ball used his hand to swipe at the big man's planted foot, sending him crashing to the floor.

The game officials didn't call a foul on the play. They couldn't review the incident afterward because there was no immediate stoppage in play, crew chief Zach Zarba said Tuesday in a pool report.

Had Ball been assessed a flagrant 2 in the moment, he would have been ejected. The 24-year-old finished with a game-high 30 points, including the game-winning layup in the final seconds of overtime.

Ball apologized for the incident postgame and said he was disoriented after being hit in the head.

The Hornets guard was fined an additional $25K for using profanity during a live postgame interview.

Charlotte will travel to Orlando on Friday to face the Magic for the right to advance to the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's eighth seed. The winner will meet the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the opening round.