Fine, suspension for Heat’s Leonard for antiSemitic slur

The NBA fined the Heat’s Meyers Leonard $50,000, the maximum allowed by agreement with the players union, and suspended him for one week in response to his use of an antiSemitic term.

Commissioner Adam Silver, in announcing the sanctions Thursday, said he believes Leonard “is genuinely remorseful.”

“Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society,” Silver said.

Leonard must participate in a diversity program. He has already met with representatives from the AntiDefamation League, a prominent Jewish organization that works to stop extremism and delivers antibias education.

“We have further communicated to Meyers that derogatory comments like this will not be tolerated and that he will be expected to uphold the core values of our league — equality, tolerance, inclusion and respect — at all times moving forward,” Silver said.

The Heat said Leonard would be away from the team indefinitely but “we are encouraged that Meyers has started to take the necessary steps to educate himself about why his comments were so offensive.”

Leonard apologized Tuesday for using the term, insisting he did not know what it meant. Thunder 116, Mavericks 108: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for Oklahoma City. Visiting Dallas rested Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

Suns 127, Trail Blazers 121: Devin Booker scored 35 points and helped visiting Phoenix pull away in the fourth along with Jae Crowder, who finished with 13 points off the bench. Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 30.

Kings 125, Rockets 105: Four Kings scored at least 20 — De’Aaron Fox (30), Harrison Barnes (20), Buddy Hield (20) and Richaun Holmes — in the home win.

Nets 121, Celtics 109: Kyrie Irving scored 40 to lead Brooklyn at home. James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which improved to 25-13 with its 12th win in 13 games. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points for Boston, which had won four in a row.

Bucks 134, Knicks 101: Giannis Antetokounmpo followed his MVP performance in the All-Star Game with his fifth triple-double of the season: 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. RJ Barrett had 22 points for visiting New York.

76ers 127, Bulls 105: Tobias Harris scored 24 and Philadelphia won on the road without stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who are out because of contact tracing. Dwight Howard scored a season-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz added 16 points, and Tony Bradley scored 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting.

Heat 111, Magic 103: Jimmy Butler had 27 points and 11 assists, Kelly Olynyk scored 20 points and Miami won at home to move over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Magic.

Hornets 105, Pistons 102: P.J Washington had 20 points and nine rebounds, Terry Rozier hit some big shots down the stretch and Charlotte beat visiting Detroit to get back to .500 for the first time since Jan. 13. Jerami Grant had 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting for the Pistons.

Hawks 121, Raptors 120: Tony Snell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and Atlanta came back from a 15-point deficit in the final six minutes to win in Tampa, Fla. Trae Young scored 37 for the Hawks.

Timberwolves 135, Pelicans 105: Jaylen Nowell hit six 3-pointers and scored 28 points, Anthony Edwards scored 27 and visiting Minnesota overcame an early 16-point deficit.

⏩ Pelicans guard JJ Redick, 36, had a non-surgical procedure for inflammation and soreness in his right heel and will be out at least a week.

Quickly they forget: Patrick Ewing is a Knicks legend, so it seems. The Georgetown coach, after his team beat Villanova at Madison Square Garden, said he was stopped in the hallways multiple times by security and had trouble getting around the Knicks’ home. “I thought this was my house,” Ewing told reporters. “They should know who the hell I am!”