NBA fines Wizards guard Beal $25K for knocking ref into seat

NEW YORK – Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) for making contact with a game official after knocking a referee into an empty front-row seat.

Beal made a leaping deflection of a long pass attempt with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter of Washington's 127-113 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

When Beal landed near the sideline, he bumped into referee John Butler, sending the official into a vacant front-row chair.

Three-time NBA All-Star Beal, in his 11th season in the league and with the Wizards, is averaging 22.5 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game this season.

The 29-year-old backcourt standout, selected third overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, has helped the Wizards reach the playoffs in five of the past nine seasons, but Washington has not gone past the second round since losing the 1979 NBA Finals.

At 26-29, the Wizards rank ninth in the Eastern Conference.