SALT LAKE CITY — In his first game after being fined for publicly criticizing officiating, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert got ejected early in the first quarter.
Gobert smacked a bottle off the scorer’s table in frustration after being called for his second foul with 9 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets. He was quickly ejected by referee Courtney Kirkland.
Gobert was called for a foul on the opening tip. His second foul came when Houston’s James Harden flopped while Gobert was fighting for post position.
NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, who attended the game at Vivint Smart Home Arena, declined to comment.
The NBA fined Gobert $15,000 for his critical comments after Sunday’s loss to the Miami Heat. Gobert was whistled for a foul on Heat guard Dwyane Wade with 3.2 seconds left in the game, a call the next day’s last-two-minute report deemed correct, and Wade made the two free throws to give Miami the victory.
“I just want it to be consistent, at one point,” Gobert told reporters after the game. “Every night is the same s—. Every night has been the same s—. If you call something one way, you have to call it the other way. Once they start doing that, I’m going to have a little more respect. I’m just tired of it. Every game is the same.”
Gobert, the Defensive Player of the Year, implied the Jazz get unfavorable treatment from officials because Utah is a small-market team.
“They can’t be deciding the issue of a game just like that,” Gobert said. “If you call a foul on the play on D-Wade, Donovan [Mitchell] got pushed harder right before. But he’s not Dwyane Wade, it’s fine.”