Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is fined $10,000 by NBA for kicking ball into stands

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been fined $10,000 for kicking the ball into the stands, which led to his ejection from a game against Indiana.

Doncic kicked the ball after a basket by the Pacers late in the third quarter of their 111-99 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night.

The 19-year-old rookie sensation from Slovenia said he didn’t intentionally kick the ball into the stands. The ball ricocheted off the back of the backboard into the first couple of rows of seats. Because Doncic had received a technical earlier in the game, his second technical resulted in the first ejection of his career.

In the next game, Doncic became the second-youngest player to record a triple-double, notching 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 116-106 loss to the Bucks. He leads the Mavericks in scoring at 20 points per game.

Anthony trade finalized

The Rockets and Bulls finalized a trade that sends veteran forward Carmelo Anthony from Houston to Chicago.

The Bulls acquired the draft rights to Jon Diebler and cash considerations in exchange for the rights to Tadija Dragicevic. The Bulls have no plans to play Anthony and will look to either trade the 10-time All-Star before the Feb. 7 deadline or ultimately waive him and make him a free agent.

Anthony averaged 13.4 points in 10 games with the Rockets. He has not played since Nov. 8. Anthony was traded by Oklahoma City to Atlanta in July, a move that preceded the Hawks releasing him to sign with the Rockets. The Bulls, technically, are Anthony’s fourth franchise in seven months.

Anthony was the No. 3 pick in the star-studded 2003 draft class that also included No. 1 LeBron James, No. 4 Chris Bosh and No. 5 Dwyane Wade. He has averaged 24.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in his career.