Spitting mad: NBA fines Pierce for preseason incident

Stu Jackson, the league’s senior vice president of operations, made the announcement. The incident occurred with 32 seconds left in the third quarter, during which Pierce got in a shouting match with Cleveland guard LeBron James.

After a James steal of Pierce led to a dunk, Pierce, who was jabbing with the Cleveland bench all game, spit at and confronted the Cavaliers bench after the play.

Both Pierce and James began jawing at each other and both received technical fouls before order was restored.

Pierce finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in defeat.

The incident marked the second substantial penalty levied against Pierce, who was fined $7,500 by the NBA for throwing and kicking the basketball into the stands in a regular season game against the Orlando Magic last January.