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Report: NBA says it wasn't interaction with Suns owner that got Barnes fined

Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY Sports

After being fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language at a fan, Matt Barnes took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend himself, saying that he was actually responding to Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver after Sarver cussed at him (read story below).

The NBA rejects that claim, according to ESPN.

An NBA spokesman told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the league's review of the incident "confirmed that it was not an interaction with Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver" that led to Matt Barnes' fine.

Barnes, as expected, responded to the report Wednesday.

"If you’re going to say something like that to me, expect me to respond but don’t go run and tell when I do go say something," Barnes said about Sarver.

Barnes was also fined $25,000 in December for kicking a cup into the stands and using profane language towards fans in Washington. This week's fine is the 10th of Barnes' career.

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