The Denver Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone will not be on the sidelines for the Nuggets on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings — Malone’s former team.
After getting ejected against the Los Angeles Lakers at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter on Sunday night, it seems the league apparently felt that it was appropriate to suspend Malone for one additional game after he argued a non-call on Nikola Jokic that he did not agree with. Here is what transpired:
Jokic and Mike Malone get tossed from the game 😬 pic.twitter.com/6AOq30vxVZ
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) November 20, 2017
This is the reasoning that the league has given as to why they suspended Michael Malone, according to their press release.
“Denver Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone has been suspended one game without pay for entering the court, halting play, and making contact with an official,” Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeWeghe wrote in the press release.
In addition to Malone being suspended, the league has also rescinded Nikola Jokic’s ejection fine and stated that Jokic should not have been ejected from the game.
The Nuggets will take on the Kings in Sacramento tonight at 8:00 pm MST without their head coach. Instead of Malone, Wes Unseld Jr. will coach the Nuggets in Sacramento.