NEW YORK -- Michael Jordan was fined $5,000 and his Chicago Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen $3,000 by the NBA Friday for saying the referees 'stunk' after a loss Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The fines were announced by NBA vice president Rod Thorn.
Jordan, Pippen and at least one other Bulls player criticized referees Danny Crawford, Jimmy Clark and Jim Capers after the Hawks' 123-114 victory. Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins hit an NBA-record 23 straight free throws and finished with 42 points. The Hawks went to the line 40 times in the game compared to 19 for the Bulls.
'We had three terrible referees, and you really couldn't determine who was the lead official,' Jordan said after the game. 'They all stunk. I'll probably get fined for that, but wait until they look at the film. If they don't say they stunk, then I'll say it.'
Pippen added, 'We weren't getting any fouls. Whenver the whistle blew, you can believe it was our foul. We didn't get any calls. You can't let a guy go to the line 23 times. I think the officiating really stunk.'
Jordan and Pippen were joined by at least one other teammate in ripping the officials.
'It was five against eight out there,' Horace Grant said. 'I can take a fine because it was terrible out there.'
Grant was not fined.
