Pistons guard Evan Fournier fined $25K for kicking ball into stands after loss to Heat

Detroit — Evan Fournier was visibly frustrated after Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo drilled a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Pistons home with their latest loss Sunday afternoon.

The veteran guard kicked the game ball high into the stands of Little Caesars Arena. As a result, Fournier was fined $25,000, the NBA announced Monday.

Fournier came up with a crucial steal with 23 seconds left, which led to Detroit's final possession of the game. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham had a chance to take the lead, but missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining on the clock. Heat guard Terry Rozier rebounded the ball and initiated a fast break before passing to a trailing Adebayo, who stepped into what became his fourth 3-pointer of the season.

He finished the game with a team-high 18 points off the bench on 4-of-8 from the 3-point line. It was his first time making four 3s in a game all season. Before Sunday, Fournier missed 17 of his previous 21 attempts from beyond the arc. When asked about snapping out of his shooting slump, he disagreed that he was in a slump.

"To be honest, I wasn't in a shooting slump," Fournier said. "It was just a very small sample. When you come off the bench, you don't really know how the game is going to go. I've never felt like I was in a shooting slump at all, to be honest. But when you do get in a real slump, you just have to have a short memory. Focus on today and get your reps, and that's it."

Fournier, 31, is one of two veterans on the Pistons' young roster. He is the second-oldest player on the Pistons behind recently-signed Taj Gibson. He was acquired in a trade — alongside Quentin Grimes and Malachi Flynn —with the New York Knicks on Feb. 8 in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

Joe Dumars, who is the NBA's head of basketball operations, is in charge of the league's disciplinary actions. The Pistons legend and former general manager submitted a video message to honor the 20th anniversary of the franchise's 2004 championship team.

mcurtis@detroitnews.com

@MikeACurtis2