Count the NBA among those not buying Rajon Rando’s claim that he was only stretching when he tripped Jae Crowder in Game 3 of the Bulls-Celtics playoff series Saturday AEDT.
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The Bulls guard has been slapped with a $25,000 fine, Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league’s executive VP of basketball operations, announced today.
The incident occurred with about 31 seconds left in the first quarter of Boston’s 104-87 win at United Center.
"When you tear an ACL, your leg gets stiff every once in awhile. I had to stretch it out," Rondo excused, per the Chicago Tribune.
Bulls' Rajon Rondo denies trying to trip Celtics' Jae Crowder from the bench: "When you tear an ACL, your leg gets stiff on you." pic.twitter.com/OAjkWXYLTK
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 22, 2017
In the video below Rondo, who is sidelined for the rest of the series with a broken thumb, is the one with the jimmy legs in the strange short-sleeved maroon suit on the Bulls bench.
Per @NBAPR: #Bulls Rajon Rondo fined $25k for trying to trip Jae Crowder from the bench 👇: pic.twitter.com/vDY2VxY35c
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticChi) April 23, 2017
Game 4 is set for Monday 8:30am AEDT, when the Celtics try to even the series at two games apiece.