The officials determined that Lance Stephenson's guitar was out of tune on Saturday night.
Stephenson was called for a technical foul for taunting after making a three-pointer with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. He got the whistle blown on him for making his way back down the court while strumming an air guitar in the direction of Hornets rookie Miles Bridges.
"I guess the refs don't like my little air guitar celebration," Stephenson said after finishing with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 23 minutes.
Will he go back to shredding the imaginary ax now that it cost him a technical foul?
"Oh, of course," Stephenson said. "Especially if I'm feelin' it."
Several members of the Lakers sounded as though they would have no problem if he kept it up.
"I mean, you can't take that away from Lance; it's part of who he is," Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. "I tried once earlier this season and he just keeps doing it. ... That's what makes him really good is his competitive greatness, and that's part of who he is."
"I usually scream on the refs a lot," Stephenson said. "But I've changed a lot."
He's sorry, so, so sorry
If Melvin Gordon cost fantasy football teams Thursday night, the Los Angeles Chargers running back says he's truly sorry.
"To my fantasy owners ... who lost without my help I'm sorry," Gordon wrote on social media after the Chargers defeated Kansas City 29-28.
Depending on the scoring system, Gordon is averaging over 25 fantasy points in a majority of fantasy leagues, but a knee injury sidelined him while many needed him the most in their playoffs.
Of course, the NFL superstar was probably the reason many were in their fantasy playoffs in the first place ... but he's still apologizing nonetheless.
"Crunch time in these playoffs and I couldn't come thru !!"
Mascot trouble
Things went from bad to worse for the Chicago Blackhawks during their 4-3 overtime loss Friday night to the Winnipeg Jets.
Tommy Hawk, the team's mascot, was attacked by a fan on the United Center concourse, authorities say, in a video-recorded encounter.
Chicago Police confirmed they were notified of a disturbance at the United Center around 11:15 p.m. Friday. Police said a "male was performing as a team mascot" when another man began punching him in the face and put him in a headlock.
The alleged attacker was described as a white man between 18 and 20, about 5-foot-5 and 160 pounds. No one was in custody as of Saturday night.
But the police narrative doesn't necessarily match the scene caught on video, which was widely circulated online.
In a series of Snapchat videos which were shared on Twitter, Tommy Hawk is seen pushing the man and landing a few jabs of his own.
"Watch out for the kid," the man said as the Hawks mascot picks him up and slams him onto the ground.
Once the man is on the floor, the Hawks mascot leans over him and throws several punches, with the man appearing to fight back to some degree. In the final segment of the video, Tommy Hawk pushes the man away from him.
Sports on 12/17/2018