Chris Paul Fined $35K for Making Contact with Ref in Rockets vs. Warriors Game 1

Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul has been fined $35,000 for making contact with a referee during Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors, but he will not be suspended for Game 2 Tuesday, according to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic. 

The incident came in the closing seconds of a 104-100 loss for the Rockets, with Paul being ejected after arguing about a non-call:

According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the league fined him for "aggressively confronting and recklessly making contact with a game official."

Although it is never acceptable to make contact with an official, the guard's anger might have been justified.

According to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report, Warriors guard Stephen Curry should have been called for a foul on Eric Gordon with 4.4 seconds remaining, but it was instead ruled a turnover. Paul's outburst came directly after that scramble, which effectively ended the game for Houston.

This was one of three missed calls listed in the report, all benefitting Golden State in what became a four-point win.

Houston believes this one-sided officiating has become a trend agains the Warriors, sending a memo to the NBA after last year's loss in the Western Conference Finals which said that "referees likely changed the eventual NBA champion," per Zach Lowe and Rachel Nichols of ESPN.

Still, Paul and the rest of the players need to keep their emotions in check on the court as the veteran is fortunate not to be suspended for Game 2.

The Rockets will try to make up for their recent loss when they get back at it Tuesday night.