The spat between the Nets and 76ers has gotten worse.
Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks has been suspended one game without pay and fined $25,000 after he entered the referees' locker room Saturday night, the NBA announced Sunday.
Marks apparently was so unhappy with how the game was called that he entered the locker room after the game. It's unclear what went on in the locker room, but the league was not amused by the post-game visit to the referees and took the step of suspending him.
Marks will serve the suspension Tuesday, which will be Game 5 of the series, which will be in Philadelphia.
The outburst came after the Nets lost Game 4 of their first-round series against the Sixers, 112-108. The game also saw the two teams get heated, with Jimmy Butler and Jared Dudley getting ejected for fighting in the third quarter.
Things got ugly when Joel Embiid swatted at Jarrett Allen hard, which prompted Dudley to shove Embiid. Butler entered the fray to defend Embiid, which resulted in a shoving match that also involved Ben Simmons.
the way jimmy butler protects embiid by shoving dudley after the initial shove>>> pic.twitter.com/h16g8FBcAw
— Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) April 20, 2019
According to ESPN, Marks was "livid" that Embiid was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for his role in the melee instead of a Flagrant 2. Embiid also received just a Flagrant 1 foul in Game 2, and apparently Marks thought he should have gotten a Flagrant 2 in that instance, as well.
Sources: Nets and GM Sean Marks were livid over belief Embiid’s flagrant 1 fouls in Games 2/4 should’ve been deemed a 2. More than message to league with ref challenge, Marks intended to message his team on how franchise is determined to support way they're competing in series.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 21, 2019
The Sixers lead the series 3-1, and hope to close out the first round at home on Tuesday.