It was a busy morning for NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson, as he handed out suspensions to Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love and Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown for incidents from this weekend’s games.
Jerry Zgoda with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports Love has been suspended two games for stepping on Luis Scola’s face during Friday night’s victory over the Houston Rockets. Love told reporters after the game that he did not plant his foot into Scola’s face and chest on purpose.
“I mean, he fell down after the play,” Love said. “He just kind of laid there and I’ve got size 19 feet so…I just happened to be there. I had nowhere to go. I got kind of tripped up and I just had nowhere to step. He was right there. It was a heat of the moment type play and he was right there and it happened to be his face, just like in Houston it happened to be my groin.”
Today, Love released the following statement through the Timberwolves organization, apologizing for the incident (hat tip to Pro Basketball Talk for posting the statement).
“I want to publicly apologize to Luis Scola and the Houston Rockets. My intention is to never hurt another player on the basketball court. I’ve always had the utmost respect for the game of basketball and all of my opponents. I also apologize to my coaches, teammates and our fans for the consequences of my actions.”
Additionally, the Los Angeles Times is reporting Brown has been suspended one game by the league for bumping official Zach Zarba during Saturday’s loss to Utah.
Brown made contact with Zarba after becoming upset with a no-call on Utah guard Earl Watson, who had knocked over the Lakers’ Pau Gasol while making a steal that led to a dunk by Derrick Favors. Brown was assessed two technicals and ejected.
John Kuester will coach the team in Brown’s place when they play Philadelphia on Monday night. Brown was also fined $25,000.
