Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow said Saturday has he moved on from the $15,000 fine levied Friday by the NBA for stepping on the fallen mask of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid during Thursday's Game 3 of this best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series.
"My focus is on the game," he said before Game 4 at AmericanAirlines Arena. "It is what it is, but I'm still out there playing."
Winslow said that is what mattered most, that he wasn't suspended.
"I didn't get suspended," he said, "so I'm going to do what I can to help my team win. I'm not concerned about it right now."
The NBA said Winslow was fined, "for unsportsmanlike conduct for intentionally stepping on and attempting to damage the facemask."
The incident occurred when Embiid’s facemask fell to the court with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter of the 76ers' 128-108 victory.
In the wake of Game 3, Winslow said, "He kept throwing it on the ground. So I don't know if he didn't like it or what. But I was talking to JoJo. We were smack talking, trash talking, going back and forth. But no love lost."
Embiid quickly moved on to a replacement mask.
"Little do they know, I have about 50 of them," Embiid said after Game 3 of the protection needed in the wake of the facial fracture that sidelined him for 10 games, including the first two games of this series. "It's going to take much more of that to get me out of the series. I'm going to be a nightmare for them, too."
The 76ers did not take immediate issue.
"It’s good for the game. It's playoffs," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "Justise is good people. He's highly competitive. It’s part of the game. That’s the NBA playoffs. You can see the spirit in which both teams played.
"That example with Justise probably is as good as an example of just the mindset everybody had."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Saturday's game that the team had moved beyond the incident.
"We talked to him about it," Spoelstra said. "We accept the fine. He accepts it. He'll pay for it.
"It doesn't add a distraction."
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