Tristan Thompson Fined $25K, Not Suspended for Altercation at End of Game 1

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson has avoided a suspension for Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals following his actions near the end of Game 1 on Thursday night.

The league announced on Friday, via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Thompson has been fined $25,000, while his flagrant-2 foul has been downgraded to a flagrant-1.

Thompson was ejected with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime of Golden State's 124-114 victory after the referee deemed he threw an elbow at Warriors guard Shaun Livingston. He was assessed a flagrant-2 on the play.

Instead of leaving the court and going to the locker room, however, Thompson was at the center of a scrum during which he shoved the basketball in the face of Warriors forward Draymond Green.

When asked what led tempers to flare, Thompson said Warriors guard Shaun Livingston took an unnecessary shot (NSFW language):

That confrontation caught the eye of Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley:

Thompson had a quiet game to open the series. The 6'9", 238-pound big man posted just two points on 1-of-4 shooting while grabbing five rebounds. He recorded a plus/minus of minus-nine in 20 minutes.

Although he did not make an impact in Game 1, Thompson may be a key to victory for Cleveland. When the Cavs won their first-ever championship in 2016, Thompson was a force in the paint, averaging 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in the Finals.

The on-court altercation could have led to the suspension of multiple Cavaliers. Like Thompson, Kevin Love also avoided a ban for his Game 1 actions. Love was not checked into the game at the time of the skirmish, but he found himself on the court at the time of the pushing and shoving, though he quickly made his way back to the sideline.