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Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The NBA fined Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden $25,000 for publicly criticizing officials, the league announced Saturday. Harden made his comments to reporters after the Rockets' 111-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday at Staples Center. The star guard scored 30 points with six assists and five rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
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Harden was assessed four offensive fouls in the loss, including a foul that disqualified him with 1:24 left in the game and the Rockets trailing by six points.
The Rockets guard targeted the game's crew chief, Scott Foster, following the contest.
"Scott Foster, man. I never really talk about officiating or anything like that, but just rude and arrogant," Harden said. "I mean, you aren't able to talk to him throughout the course of the game, and it's like, how do you build that relationship with officials? And it's not even that call [on the sixth foul]. It's just who he is on that floor."
Foster called 12 fouls, seven coming in the fourth quarter, on the Rockets during their game against Los Angeles.
It was the seventh time Harden fouled out in his 10-year NBA career. The last time Harden failed to finish a regulation game due to foul trouble came in 2017 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Foster was the leading official in that contest.
Harden sat out of the Rockets' 118-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Houston (34-25) plays the Atlanta Hawks (20-40) on Monday night.
