Kyle O’Quinn fined for foul on Anthony Davis

New York Knicks center/forward Kyle O’Quinn has been fined $25,000 for striking and pushing New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis from behind, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which O’Quinn was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter of the Knicks’ 110-96 loss to the Pelicans on Jan. 9 at Madison Square Garden.

Justin Anderson fined for foul on Kris Dunn

Dallas Mavericks guard/forward Justin Anderson has been fined $25,000 for striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn in the head, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 1 on the floor and upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2 upon league office review, occurred with 10:45 remaining in the second quarter of the Timberwolves’ 101-92 victory over the Mavericks on Jan. 9 at Target Center.

Latest Derrick Rose Knicks news

Is Derrick Rose doing OK? Well, he’s back with the Knicks. So, he’s physically fine. But mentally and emotionally? We’ll see. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

Latest Derrick Rose Knicks news

Derrick Rose is confident the issue that caused him to abruptly leave the Knicks on Monday has been resolved and that he’s back with the team for the long haul. But the veteran point guard also admitted that if he needed more time away from the Knicks he would not hesitate to ask the team for permission.

“No, not at all,” Rose said early Wednesday. “The relationship I’m building with Phil (Jackson) and Steve (Mills) I wouldn’t mind asking (for time off) if I needed it. But like I said, I feel fine and what happened a couple of days ago is just the past.”

Rose was fined but not suspended for going AWOL on Monday and missing the Knicks loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Rose made the peculiar decision not to notify the team of his intentions to return to his hometown of Chicago Monday afternoon. Also, Rose refused to return repeated phone calls and text messages from team officials from several hours. The Knicks were so concerned about Rose that they sent an employee to his Manhattan apartment.

Hassan Whiteside not closely monitoring All-Star votes

Here’s the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside and 2017 All-Star voting:

Hassan Whiteside not closely monitoring All-Star votes

Whiteside isn’t getting his hopes up when it comes to fan voting for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game, even as he puts up All-Star numbers, including his 28 points and 20 rebounds Tuesday against the Warriors.

After ranking ninth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players in last week’s initial release, Whiteside said he won’t be monitoring the weekly returns.

“It’s just a popularity contest at this point,” he said. “Our record was better than the 76ers [at the last balloting release] and Joel Embiid was fourth.”

Whiteside said that the All-Star selections should not turn into a referendum on a team’s place in the standings, with the Heat 11-29 going into Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center, which will mark the midpoint of their season.

“I don’t really feel like All-Stars should even be a record thing,” he said. “It’s the individual thing. That’s why they don’t bring the whole team; they bring a player.”