TORONTO _ Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas was fined $20,000 by the NBA Wednesday for his chop to the throat of forward Andrew Wiggins in Monday's road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thomas said he was going for a steal when he struck Wiggins with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter. After a review, Thomas was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
The league's release said Thomas was fined for striking Wiggins "above the shoulders."
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said after the game he didn't expect further punishment for Thomas and that he didn't believe Thomas should have been ejected.
But while Thomas said he'd used the move before, he understood the ejection even if he didn't agree with it. He said he apologized to Wiggins right away.
"I was surprised because I went for the ball," Thomas said after the game. "But I know anything around the head is really ... especially if it looks bad, you're going to probably be thrown out. I just made sure he was good, made sure he knew I had no intention of trying to hurt him or hit him in the throat."
Thomas has also been called for three technical fouls this season, most recently Saturday at Orlando. Those cost him $2,000 each in fines, bringing his total this season to $26,000.
