Cavaliers' Jones fined 66 percent of salary in 3 minutes

May 2 (UPI) -- LeBron James said he'd pay Dahntay Jones' Game 1 fine after the veteran was docked in the final seconds Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers held a 114-106 lead on the Toronto Raptors with just 19 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the second-round Eastern Conference playoff series opener. Jones powered down the court and slammed home a jam, before staring down Raptors guard Norman Powell. He was given two technical fouls and ejected.

Jones was later assessed a $6,000 fine by the NBA, which doesn't sound like a huge haul in terms of NBA contracts. But Jones, 36, is playing on a $9,127 salary. The $6,000 fine is the result of a $2,000 fine for each technical and $2,000 for the ejection.

James also came to the rescue for his veteran teammate last year when he paid Jones' fine after he punched Toronto's Bismack Biyombo.

"First of all, I said I was going to pay the fine before I even knew what it was," James in his postgame comments. "It didn't matter. And I told him tonight, I said: `Listen, Dahntay, now enough is enough. Stop getting kicked out against Toronto all the time. I'm going to stop paying your damn fines.' But yeah, he don't have to worry about it. He's good."

Jones' low salary is due to it being the prorated amount of the minimum contract. He signed with the Cavaliers on the final day of the regular season. James is playing for nearly $31 million, on the court, this season.

James led all scorers with 35 points. He also had 10 rebounds and four assists. Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving pitched in 24 points and 10 assists. Jones scored two points, making his only shot attempt in two minutes of play.

Jones won a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. He has played 13 seasons for eight different franchises. Jones, a former Duke star, was the No. 20 overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft. He has made $17.9 million on the court during his lengthy career, according to Basketball Reference.

The Cavaliers have now won eight consecutive playoff games.