NBA fines Kidd $50K for spilling drink on court

NEW YORK — Jason Kidd dropped more than a soda in an attempt to delay a game. He ended up dropping $50,000 for the stunt.

The NBA fined the Brooklyn Nets coach on Thursday, saying he intentionally spilled his drink on the court as an unusual stall tactic.

Kidd bumped into Brooklyn reserve Tyshawn Taylor with 8.3 seconds left in the Nets’ 99-94 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday, causing his drink to spill. A video of the fumble showed Kidd appearing to tell Taylor to “hit me” as the guard walked toward the bench, and the resulting delay while the floor was being cleaned allowed the Nets, who were out of timeouts, to diagram a play.

Kidd denied any intent after the game, joking that he had “sweaty palms” and was “never good with the ball.”

“In the heat of the battle you’re trying to get guys in and out of the game, and the Coke fell out of my hand,” Kidd added.

The NBA didn’t believe it and punished Kidd for the second time in his first month as a coach. He was suspended the first two games of the regular season after pleading guilty in a drunken driving case.

Kidd and the Nets are off to a 4-11 start.