Kevin Love went all Ndamukong Suh on the face of Luis Scola Saturday night in a 100-91 win by the Timberwolves over the Houston Rockets. The NBA just announced his punishment.
Scola hit the deck in the paint during the third quarter, after Love used his shoulder to shove Scola to the floor along with the ball that was picked up by the Timberwolves.
Minnesota's top scorer was not called for a foul on the play and the Rockets' big man remained where he fell as the teams headed to the other side of the court.
To add insult to injury, Love left Scola the gift of the underside of his basketball shoe as he took off with his teammates, first on Scola's chest then his face.
For his uncharacteristic enforcer-like activity, Kevin Love will sit out two games without pay. The Minnesota Star Tribune calculated the income loss at $83,630.
As did the Detroit Lion's Suh, Love protested the accusation that his actions were intentional. After the game, he told media:
"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."
The NBA was inclined to ignore the explanation of Mr. Love, being aware of the recent history between the two teams.
It had been only five days prior to Scola's stomping that Love took a direct hit at close range in the protective cup area, from a basketball, flung at him by Luis Scola.
In a common move in the NBA, Scola had the ball in his hands as his momentum was carrying him out of bounds.
He threw the ball at Love, it ricocheted off his groin out of bounds and the Rockets retained possession of the ball. The league didn't need a long memory to add it all up.
For his part, Scola laughed off the foot stomp saying that it was over so quickly he couldn't tell what brand shoe Love was wearing.
Love apologized to Scola after the game and now he might have to apologize to Wolves fans who count on the big guy to put up a lot of points every night.
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