Warriors ban minority owner from NBA Finals after pushing incident

June 6 (UPI) -- The Golden State Warriors have banned team minority owner Mark Stevens from the rest of the NBA Finals following a pushing incident involving Raptors guard Kyle Lowry in Wednesday night's Game 3 loss.

The Warriors released a statement Thursday regarding Stevens, condemning the action that took place early in the fourth quarter.

"Mr. Stevens' behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization," the Warriors said.

"We're extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct. There is no place for such interaction between fans -- or anyone -- and players at an NBA game."

The incident took place when Lowry barreled into a row of seats while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds, and Stevens pushed the Raptors guard.

Lowry quickly pointed out the push, and Stevens was ejected from the arena.

Stevens is listed as a member of the Warriors' executive board in the team's media guide.

The Warriors are owned by Joe Lacob. Stevens became a minority owner in 2013.

"There's no place for that," Lowry said following the game regarding the incident.

"He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me.

"There's no place for people like that in our league, and hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game."

The Raptors lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 following their 123-109 win over the Warriors Wednesday.