PHILADELPHIA VS. INDIANA MILWAUKEE VS. ORLANDO MIAMI VS. CHARLOTTE NEW YORK VS. TORONTO SAN ANTONIO VS. MINNESOTA L.A. LAKERS VS. PORTLAND SACRAMENTO VS. PHOENIX UTAH VS. DALLAS

Wednesday, May 30 Davis out $7,500 for ripping refs Associated Press LOS ANGELES – Dale Davis of the Portland Trail Blazers was fined $7,500 by the NBA on Wednesday for verbally abusing officials during his team's 106-93 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis fouled out of Sunday's game in Los Angeles trying to guard Shaquille O'Neal after playing only nine minutes without scoring, and had just two rebounds. "I'm pretty shocked, especially the way things went down," Davis said Wednesday. "I'm still checking into it. For the most part, I pretty much kept my cool." Davis said he had conversations with the officials, Bernie Fryer, Don Vaden and Bill Spooner, throughout Game 1, and planned to appeal the fine. "Definitely, especially when I think I'm pretty much right in this situation," Davis said. "There was an incident after the game, I don't think it was major." Davis, 32, said he has been fined a couple times during his 10-year career, but nothing major. Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said after the game that O'Neal camped in the lane, and was generally protected by the officials, and Scottie Pippen said if O'Neal was allowed to push the opposition around the way he did, nobody would beat the Lakers. "He's going to abuse the rules if they let him do it," Davis said of O'Neal. "He's going to play his game. Our job is to go out and get a win. Whatever we have to do, we'll do it, there's no tomorrow. The toughest team is going to win. We just have to play tougher." O'Neal said the Blazers should stop crying and whining -- his words -- and just play. When asked how he felt about that observation, Davis smiled and said, "That's fine, we've been accused of worse." Davis' fine was the third levied on the Trail Blazers through one game of the playoffs. Even before they began, Rasheed Wallace was fined $10,000 for failing to make himself available to the media, and the team was fined $25,000 for failing to ensure its players adhered to the NBA's media policy. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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