Stan Van Gundy Fined $35K by NBA; Paul Pierce Fined $15K

Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Saturday for his critical comments of NBA officials, in which he accused referees of targeting Magic center Dwight Howard in their crackdown on technical fouls.

"They (officials) are looking for him, no question. They make a call on him and they are looking for his reaction. Other guys get away with stuff. He's going to have to accept that, they are looking for him. Every one of them (officials),'' Van Gundy said after the Magic's Thursday night victory over the New York Knicks. "For other guys, they look away. He's not going to be treated like everyone else in the league.''

Howard picked up his league-leading 12th technical foul of the season early in the win over the Knicks, putting him just four away from a mandatory one-game suspension.

More: Stan Van Gundy Says Officials Are Targeting Dwight Howard

"He (Howard) got a technical for yelling 'damn,' because he was upset at himself. 'Damn,' is a technical but 'bulls**t' (which is what Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire said to an official late in the game) is not?'' Van Gundy said. "Let me get this straight, 'damn' is a technical but 'bulls**t' is okay.''

Also fined by the league Saturday was Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who was levied with a $15,000 penalty for throwing an object into the stands in Boston's Tuesday victory over the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The incident occurred with 8:02 remaining in the first quarter. Earlier in the week, Celtics teammate Shaquille O'Neal was fined $35,000 for criticizing officials following the team's Christmas Day loss to the Magic.