Zaza Pachulia of the Golden State Warriors will not be fined for his controversial action in the game against Oklahoma City Thunder. This was confirmed by the NBA on Monday to ESPN.
The league has reviewed the controversial play, but no clear evidence has been found that Pachulia deliberately fell on Russell Westbrook’s leg, as confirmed by the league bureau. The Georgian has already been reinstated in Monday’s game against the Knicks.
On Saturday, Pachulia had fallen on Westbrook’s leg in the game against OKC after he had fallen on a layup. The MVP was then furious and said that it was definitely intentional and that Pachulia had tried to hurt him. Paul George and Celtics star Kyrie Irving also sensed intent.
Pachulia’s teammate Kevin Durant defended the center on Sunday:”I don’t think Zaza wants to hurt anyone. He’s clumsy. That’s a lot of big boys,”says Durant.”I saw the tape. I saw that Nick Young’s foot got caught on Zaza’s leg and he somehow tripped over it. I don’t think he was trying to hurt Russ. I’m glad that nothing happened to Russ.”
Pachulia, however, has had a bad reputation since the playoffs last season, when Spurs star Kawhi Leonard landed on his foot after a jump shot and then went down for the rest of the conference finals. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich also harshly criticised Pachulia afterwards.