NEW YORK — Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday for tossing a towel to try and distract Cleveland Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson as he shot a free throw.
Ainge, who was sitting courtside under the Cavs’ basket, flipped a white towel over his head during the third quarter of Monday night’s playoff game between Boston and Cleveland. Hickson made the free throw anyway.
Stu Jackson, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations, fined Ainge for “an unauthorized distraction and for conduct detrimental to the game.”
“What’s the difference between that and mascots, (who) do it all the time?” Boston coach Doc Rivers asked.
On the injury front, LeBron James tested his sore right elbow at practice, and the Cavs said he would not need another MRI. Celtics big men Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins were back at practice a day after sitting out.
• After more than a month of waiting for his strained calf to heal, Andrei Kirilenko expects to play for the Utah Jazz when it hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Wrist injury will idle Bruins’ Krejci
BOSTON — Boston Bruins forward David Krejci will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs after dislocating his right wrist.
Krejci injured the wrist in the first period of the team’s 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
• Don Maloney of the Phoenix Coyotes, George McPhee of the Washington Capitals and David Poile of the Nashville Predators are the finalists for the inaugural NHL general manager of the year award.
No turning back for Butler star
INDIANAPOLIS — Gordon Hayward, a 6-foot-9 sophomore Butler forward, confirmed he will remain in the NBA draft, giving up his final two years of college eligibility. He led the Bulldogs in scoring, at 15.5 points per game last season, was their top rebounder (8.2) and one of Butler’s best passers.
• The Big 12, Conference USA, the Ohio Valley and Southland conferences announced plans to pool their staffs of men’s basketball game officials.
Footnotes.
English soccer powerhouse Manchester United will play in Toronto, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Mo., and Houston as part of a North American tour this summer. The Red Devils will compete in the MLS All-Star Game against the league’s top players July 28 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
• The MLS will announce today it is awarding an expansion team to Montreal that will start play in 2012.
• Defending U.S. Open champion Martin Del Potro has returned home to Argentina to recover following surgery on his right wrist, which could keep him out for most of the Grand Slam tennis season.
• Will Price and Joe Sunder each had 18 kills to help Penn State reach the NCAA men’s volleyball championship with a 3-0 win over Cal State Northridge. Stanford beat Ohio State 3-0 in the second match.
