HoopsHype.com Rumors

LeBron James: So explain to me the difference? My teammate gets a 1 game suspension and 150k+ taking away from him for his groin altercation #strangetome Twitter @KingJames

Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Dwyane Wade: All I can say is WoW....no pun intended but really....and I get suspended and lose 200 grand... #someexplainingtodo Twitter @DwyaneWade

Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Matt Barnes: You can INTENTIONALLY grab or hit someone in the balls & not get suspended, but you push someone & get suspended. #ImConfused Twitter

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Matt Barnes, Serge Ibaka 

Matt Barnes: So if I would have back handed Ibaka, I would have been the only one to get suspended right?????????????????????????? Twitter

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Matt Barnes, Serge Ibaka 

Janis Carr: Blake Griffin insinuated NBA didn't want to suspend Ibaka for hit on him and hurt TV ratings for Lakers-Thunder tonight.Might have a point Twitter @janiscarr

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Matt Barnes: So if I would have back handed Ibaka, I would have been the only one to get suspended right? Twitter @Matt_Barnes22

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Matt Barnes, Serge Ibaka 

The NBA has fined Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka $25,000 for striking Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers in the groin area. 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 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Thunder's 108-104 win over the Clippers on Sunday, March 3 at Staples Center. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Kendrick Perkins: I don't care if people think I'm wrong call me what you want. I'm riding with my Lil homie Serge all day long. Serge is a great dude. He never plays dirty just plays hard every night. Twitter @KendrickPerkins

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka 

Kobe Bryant saw Serge Ibaka's below-the-belt hit Sunday on Blake Griffin and thought that some retaliation was in order. "I probably would have smacked [Ibaka] in the mouth," Bryant said after the Los Angeles Lakers practiced Monday. "I would have dealt with the pain after." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kobe Bryant, Serge Ibaka 

Clippers forward Matt Barnes launched (and made) a three-pointer from the corner, which pulled the Clippers to down three as the Thunder's big lead melted away. Griffin got position on Ibaka, who dropped his hand into the front of Griffin's shorts to drop the All-Star. "I didn't see it to where it was like that flagrant. (Griffin) took (Ibaka's) arm and knocked him down. The dude (is) known for flopping anyway, so that's what it is," Thunder's Kendrick Perkins told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick after the game. "I was (angry). The (Clippers') reaction after that was kind of like Serge Ibaka against Blake Griffin. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka 

"He ain't going to get the benefit of (the doubt) or what's really happening down there. You ain't seeing all the stuff that other people are doing. Serge ends up getting the bad end of the stick. I didn't like the whole thing — period. I thought it should've been a double foul." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka 

"He hit my hands away," Ibaka told reporters. "He's strong, so when he grabs you, your jersey or whatever, and you try to defend yourself and rebound. So maybe you can do some move, not to hurt, (but) just to get good position. But then something happens where you get hurt in the paint. It's not anything where I want to try to hurt him. I'm not that kind of person. I just try to play hard, and that's it." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Thunder coach Scott Brooks on Serge Ibaka flagrant foul "I know at that part, it was a scrum," Brooks said. "They were both physical and battling for position. I haven't taken a look at it yet, but I know Serge is a high character guy. I know they both were playing hard and both of them are competitors. That had no bearing." Sulia

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Scott Brooks, Serge Ibaka 

Griffin said: “I guess it's a chippy game like that every time we play. We're both pretty physical teams with physical bigs. There was a lot of pushing and all that going on down low.” Oklahoman

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka 

Now, he is battling for a rebound there, and he is trying to get his arm. But he has to know, making that motion, what he's doing. You know that if you swing your arm between a guy's legs what you're going to hit. There's no accident here. The officials hit Ibaka with just a Flagrant 1, though, allowing him to stay in the game. He then drew a foul on Griffin, scored on an and-one -- and blocked a late shot by the Thunder. So, you know, good job as always, guys. This one will unquestionably will be reviewed by the league. It would be more of a surprise if he wasn't suspended for this one. CBSSports.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Serge Ibaka, Referees 

Royce Young: Look at Ibaka's eyes when he takes the swing. He's looking up at the rim. Wasn't exactly looking at where he was chopping. Twitter @dailythunder

Oklahoma City Thunder, Serge Ibaka, Referees 

The one concern shared by all three was whether the Thunder has enough inside scoring and rebounding to make Miami pay for playing small. “To me, the key to that team is going to be (Serge) Ibaka,” Barkley said. “(Russell) Westbrook and Ibaka are the keys. Westbrook has to get better at making people around him better. He has not done that. He's already an All-Star. Now comes the point where he (needs to be) like, ‘Oh, I've got to make the guys around me better.' “But Ibaka to me is the guy. The only way to beat the Miami Heat is down low. And Ibaka shoots a lot of jumpers. He's got to post up and punish Chris Bosh down low.” Oklahoman

Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Bosh, Media, Charles Barkley, Serge Ibaka 

In six of the previous 10 games, Ibaka failed to reach 10 shot attempts. In four of those games, he didn't get up more than eight. Through the season's first 34 games, Ibaka was averaging 14.8 points on 10.9 shot attempts and scored fewer than 10 points only seven times. “Like I tell Serge, ‘You have to do what you do well,'” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “And that is rebound, defend and run the floor. And your touches will come. That can't be his only focus, and it hasn't been ... He's going to get anywhere from nine to 12 shots per game on average. Very rarely is he going to get three or four like he had last game ... Because we need it. He's been a 14, 15-point scorer for us.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, Serge Ibaka 

An increasingly puzzling scene playing out on the court during Thunder games lately involves forwards Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka having intense verbal disagreements. In several recent games, the two have frequently yelled at each other while attempting to iron out breakdowns. Durant wouldn't go into detail about what the disputes have been over, but he said each player is simply trying to make the other better. “We're just trying to help each other out. At the end of the day, that's all we're trying to do,” Durant said. “It's times when I mess up and he tells me. It's times when he messes up and I tell him. We both got to do a better job of responding to each other and just helping each other out.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka 

Asked if the frustration is from the defensive end or offense end, Durant said “it's both ends.” “I think it goes back to us wanting to be so perfect,” Durant said. “Sometimes we both got to just calm down and play the game.” Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka