Bulls' Tristan Thompson Fined $20K for Directing Profane Language Toward Official

Chicago Bulls big man Tristan Thompson has been fined $20,000 for directing profane language toward an official near the end of his team's 126-109 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday:

Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, Cody Westerlund of 670TheScore.com and Chicago Sun-Times writer Joe Cowley all gave insight at the time the incident in question went down.

The 31-year-old Thompson, an 11-year NBA veteran, has averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Bulls this year. He signed with the Bulls on Feb. 19 after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Pacers two days earlier.

Thompson and the Bulls are enduring a rough patch right now as a 3-10 slide has sunk the 42-31 Bulls to fifth in the Eastern Conference. They'll look to bounce back Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at the Cleveland Cavaliers.