LDN - Sports

National Basketball Association roundup

[October 29, 2016] Oct 28 (The Sports Xchange) - Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making a throat-slash gesture at the end of Thursday night's season-opening win over the Boston Celtics.

Wade made the gesture with his right hand after making a game-clinching 3-pointer with 26.3 seconds left that gave the Bulls the lead.

"I wanna apologize to my young fans on my gesture at the end of last nights game. I was caught up in the emotions of my first game at home," Wade wrote on Twitter.

Wade scored 22 points with six rebounds and five assists in his Chicago debut as the Bulls won their opener, beating the Celtics 105-99.

After hitting the 3-pointer to put Chicago up by five points, Wade celebrated by jumping around as the crowd roared.

"To be able to make a shot like that and helps us get this win, it's like the perfect storm," Wade said after the game.

"When I released it, I'm not going to say I knew it was going in, because anything could happen, but I felt very good about the shot, and there was just a lot of emotion running through me. I had an out-of-body experience after that."

Wade, 34, signed by the Bulls over the summer to two-year deal worth about $47 million in a move that stunned the Miami Heat, has spoken out multiple times about wanting to cut down on the violence in his hometown.

Wade played 13 seasons in Miami, scoring more than 20,000 points and getting selected to 12 All-Star teams.

Golden State Warriors star forward Kevin Durant was fined $25,000 by the NBA in April 2013 for a throat-slash gesture when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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The Chicago Bulls exercised their fourth-year contract option on forward Doug McDermott on Friday.

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The Bulls also picked up third-year options on guard Jerian Grant and forward Bobby Portis, keeping all three players in the fold for the 2017-18 season.

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The Philadelphia 76ers issued an apology to singer Sevyn Streeter on Friday after the team canceled her national anthem performance for wearing a "We Matter" jersey.

A source told ESPN that any on-court performer must sign a contract that gives the 76ers the right to cancel a performance if the standards described in the contract are not met. The Sixers declined to say why Streeter's performance was canceled, but according to a report by CBS Philly, the contract prohibited political statements. The 76ers offered Streeter an alternate shirt and song but she refused, the report said.

The national anthem has been a focal point in the sports world since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand during games this season, citing racial injustice and police brutality among the reasons for his protest. Other athletes have followed his lead in various ways.

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The Memphis Grizzlies exercised the third-year contract option on forward Jarell Martin for the 2017-18 season.

The 6-foot-10, 239-pound Martin competed in 27 regular-season games (no starts) during his rookie season in 2015-16, averaging 5.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.1 minutes. (Editing by Andrew Both)

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