Miami Heat Rumors: Goran Dragic's Technical Foul At Cory Joseph Cost Him $2K Worth of Fine

By Jenn Loro - 13 May '16 08:41AM

The second-round playoff series between the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat is getting more physically intense on the hardcourt as both teams engaged in a cut-throat race to the Eastern Conference finals. In a post-game review, NBA assessed a technical foul on Miami guard Goran Dragic who was consequently fined $2, 000 for swinging at Toronto guard Cory Joseph in Game 4's fourth quarter.

Goran Dragic tried to free himself as he tangled up with Joseph which inevitably led him to swing wildly at the Toronto guard. No foul was called during the game yet a retroactive fine was applied nevertheless.

As per Sun Sentinel, Dragic swung at Joseph with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 4 which saw the Heat overcoming the Raptors with a 94-87 victory on Monday night with both teams tying at 2-2 in the semifinal series.

NBA's retroactive technical foul assessment didn't surprise Dragic at all. The league is simply exercising due diligence by reviewing what transpired during the game for very close match-ups.

"It was just a physical play," Dragic said as quoted by the Washington Times. "I was trying to get a rebound and he was holding my arm. I kind of tried to let it go. I swung it a bit but there was no contact, nothing."

Meanwhile, Miami's Luol Deng is apparently okay following Thursday night's wrist injury. Doctors ruled the injury as a bruise with no fractures and currently listed as 'questionable' for Game 6 this Friday. Deng is expected to return to the court on Game 6 despite the listing to help push Heat's advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, Heat Nation reported.

But Miami's center Hassan Whiteside may not be so lucky. Currently, the Heat is struggling with the lack of player to fill in the big man positions. The absence of 7-foot center on the court is likely to continue in Game 6 following a knee injury in Game 4. Miami is already behind Toronto 3-2 making Game 6 a make-or-break tying game that would give them the desperately needed Game 7 to advance to the finals.