Pacers' George, McMillan fined for criticizing refs

Paul George's comments about referees are once again costing him.

On Wednesday, the NBA fined the Indiana Pacers small forward and head coach Nate McMillan for publicly criticizing the officiating in Monday's loss to the Chicago Bulls.

In the Pacers' 90-85 defeat in the Windy City, George and Co. attempted just 10 free-throws versus 28 for the home club. After the game, the All-Star vented to the press, saying it's "getting repetitive" how many calls refs are missing that wind up hurting his smaller-market team.

"Since I've been in this jersey we've always fought this battle," George told reporters. "Ever since I've been playing, ever since I've been in this jersey we've fought this battle. Maybe the league has teams they like so they can give them the benefit of the doubt. We're the little brother of the league."

Those comments cost him $15,000. He's been fined multiple times over his seven seasons for speaking out against officiating.

Meanwhile, McMillan was slapped with a $10,000 fee for demanding more respect for his squad from the folks calling the game.

"Call it fair," he said, as quoted by Nat Newell of IndyStar. "I'm not talking about superstar treatment."

The bench boss also backed his star player, George, saying: "He's not getting any - any - calls. I think it's ridiculous that he plays 39 minutes and shoots one free throw."