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NEW YORK — Denver Nuggets center DeMarcus Cousins has been fined $15,000 for kicking towels into the stands during Game 4 of Denver’s first-round playoff series against Golden State, the NBA announced Tuesday.

The incident occurred when Cousins returned to the bench after getting called for a personal foul with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter of the Nuggets’ 126-121 home victory on Sunday.

Cousins finished with 10 points. Denver avoided a sweep with the win. The veteran is averaging 8.5 points and 10.5 minutes per game this series.

Game 5 is Wednesday night.

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Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday was named the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year, the NBA announced Tuesday.

It’s the second time in his career that Holiday has won the award, which is voted on by the players and has been presented annually since the 2012-13 season. Holiday also won the award during the 2019-20 season, when he was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, making him the first two-time winner of the honor.

Holiday helped lead the Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 years last season and then went to Tokyo to help Team USA win a gold medal during the Olympics over the summer. In 67 games for the Bucks this season, he averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

Holiday and his wife, Lauren, launched the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund in 2020 to help address socioeconomic inequalities across several communities. In 2020-21, Holiday also won the 2020-21 NBA Sportsmanship award, which is also voted on by the players.

The Twyman-Stokes award recognizes a player for “selfless play, on- and off- court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players and dedication to the team,” according to the league’s news release.

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A panel of league executives selects 12 finalists, six from each conference, and then current NBA players vote on the winner. Dallas Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic finished in second, and Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan finished third.

The other finalists for the award were Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay, Denver Nuggets forward Jeff Green, Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Animal rights activists who have disrupted three Minnesota Timberwolves games in two NBA arenas over the past two weeks demand that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor relinquish his role as governor and contribute $11.3 million to various entities on behalf of animal welfare.

The activists, members of animal rights organization Direct Action Everywhere, are targeting Taylor for his ownership of Rembrandt Farms, a large-scale factory farm that produces tens of millions of eggs each year. Rembrandt’s facility experienced an outbreak of bird influenza in March.

“To have Taylor and other extremely powerful factory farming businessmen getting these taxpayer bailouts flies in the face of the values of ordinary Americans,” Direct Action Everywhere press contact and activist Matt Johnson said. “Taylor should set a powerful example by stepping away from NBA ownership and refusing to take any subsidies related to the HPAI outbreak, and donate funds previously received to help repair some of the harm of the most destructive industry on the planet.”

To combat the epidemic, the company killed more than five million birds with a method called Ventilation Shutdown Plus at one of their primary facilities in Iowa. The method, whereby air flow into the industrial sheds where the birds reside are closed off, consequently killing the birds. Activists deem this practice to be inhumane.

Protester Alicia Saturio glued her hands to the court during live play in the Timberwolves’ play-in game against the LA Clippers on April 12 at Target Center in Minneapolis, the first of the three protests. Security quickly lifted her from the court and ejected her.

“I was nervous,” Saturio told ESPN. “I had never super-glued myself to anything. I wasn’t sure how the fans were going to respond. I most certainly didn’t want any of the players to be hurt, so I made sure to do it when they were down at the other end of the court.”

In Game 1 of Minnesota’s first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, activist Zoe Rosenberg chained herself to a basket stanchion near Taylor’s seat during the game at FedExForum in Memphis. She was quickly unchained by police and carried out of the arena. Rosenberg faces charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

In Game 4 of the series in Minneapolis, activist Sasha Zemmel rushed the court just in front of Taylor, interrupting live play. Zemel was dressed in an NBA officials uniform. Her intention was to approach Taylor, whose net worth was estimated at $2.5 billion by Forbes magazine in 2020, and call a technical foul on the Timberwolves and Rembrandt Farms owner. Security personnel immediately tackled her to the floor and removed her before she could make the gesture. The referee’s jersey number was 5.3 to represent the 5.3 million birds killed at Rembrandt. Zemmel faces charges of disorderly conduct and fifth-degree assault.

Johnson attended Game 3 at Target Center with the intention of disrupting play. He was apprehended and tackled by security before he could reach the floor. He was placed under arrest and banned from Target Center for one year.

“I didn’t even know what that was,” Timberwolves young star Anthony Edwards said following Minnesota’s Game 4 win. “Y’all got to stop running on the floor in Minnesota. Do that in Memphis. We don’t need it.”

Each of the protesters is a member of Direct Action Everywhere, which performs both public acts of civil disobedience, as well as rescue missions at farm factories. Though the recent acts are in response to the killings at Rembrandt, the group more broadly opposes factory farming.

The organization recently filed a complaint to local and state authorities in Iowa, alleging that Rembrandt’s conduct violated state law. It demands that Taylor expedite the pending sale of the team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who have agreed to terms. Direct Action Everywhere also insists that Taylor Corporation, parent company of Rembrandt, donate all $11.3 million received in federal funds to aid in a 2015 outbreak to public health and animal welfare organizations.

The Timberwolves, nor representatives of Taylor, have not commented at the time of publication.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Animal rights activists who have disrupted three Minnesota Timberwolves games in two NBA arenas over the past two weeks demand that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor relinquish his role as governor and contribute $11.3 million to various entities on behalf of animal welfare.

The activists, members of animal rights organization Direct Action Everywhere, are targeting Taylor for his ownership of Rembrandt Farms, a large-scale factory farm that produces tens of millions of eggs each year. Rembrandt’s facility experienced an outbreak of bird influenza in March.

“To have Taylor and other extremely powerful factory farming businessmen getting these taxpayer bailouts flies in the face of the values of ordinary Americans,” Direct Action Everywhere press contact and activist Matt Johnson said. “Taylor should set a powerful example by stepping away from NBA ownership and refusing to take any subsidies related to the HPAI outbreak, and donate funds previously received to help repair some of the harm of the most destructive industry on the planet.”

To combat the epidemic, the company killed more than five million birds with a method called Ventilation Shutdown Plus at one of their primary facilities in Iowa. The method, whereby air flow into the industrial sheds where the birds reside are closed off, consequently killing the birds. Activists deem this practice to be inhumane.

Protester Alicia Saturio glued her hands to the court during live play in the Timberwolves’ play-in game against the LA Clippers on April 12 at Target Center in Minneapolis, the first of the three protests. Security quickly lifted her from the court and ejected her.

“I was nervous,” Saturio told ESPN. “I had never super-glued myself to anything. I wasn’t sure how the fans were going to respond. I most certainly didn’t want any of the players to be hurt, so I made sure to do it when they were down at the other end of the court.”

In Game 1 of Minnesota’s first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, activist Zoe Rosenberg chained herself to a basket stanchion near Taylor’s seat during the game at FedExForum in Memphis. She was quickly unchained by police and carried out of the arena. Rosenberg faces charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

In Game 4 of the series in Minneapolis, activist Sasha Zemmel rushed the court just in front of Taylor, interrupting live play. Zemel was dressed in an NBA officials uniform. Her intention was to approach Taylor, whose net worth was estimated at $2.5 billion by Forbes magazine in 2020, and call a technical foul on the Timberwolves and Rembrandt Farms owner. Security personnel immediately tackled her to the floor and removed her before she could make the gesture. The referee’s jersey number was 5.3 to represent the 5.3 million birds killed at Rembrandt. Zemmel faces charges of disorderly conduct and fifth-degree assault.

Johnson attended Game 3 at Target Center with the intention of disrupting play. He was apprehended and tackled by security before he could reach the floor. He was placed under arrest and banned from Target Center for one year.

“I didn’t even know what that was,” Timberwolves young star Anthony Edwards said following Minnesota’s Game 4 win. “Y’all got to stop running on the floor in Minnesota. Do that in Memphis. We don’t need it.”

Each of the protesters is a member of Direct Action Everywhere, which performs both public acts of civil disobedience, as well as rescue missions at farm factories. Though the recent acts are in response to the killings at Rembrandt, the group more broadly opposes factory farming.

The organization recently filed a complaint to local and state authorities in Iowa, alleging that Rembrandt’s conduct violated state law. It demands that Taylor expedite the pending sale of the team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who have agreed to terms. Direct Action Everywhere also insists that Taylor Corporation, parent company of Rembrandt, donate all $11.3 million received in federal funds to aid in a 2015 outbreak to public health and animal welfare organizations.

The Timberwolves, nor representatives of Taylor, have not commented at the time of publication.

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Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday and will be listed as questionable for Game 5 on Wednesday as the team faces elimination, coach Billy Donovan said.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine was not feeling great Tuesday morning and will not travel with the team to Milwaukee later in the day. LaVine will have to go through more testing, which will give the Bulls more clarity on his status for Game 5.

LaVine is averaging 19.3 points in four postseason games against the Milwaukee Bucks, who have a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

This will be the third time that LaVine has entered the league’s protocols, following stints in December and at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

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The Chicago White Sox are getting ready to host the Kansas City Royals this week for a three-game series. They will play them a bunch of times this year as division rivals. The Royals are not a very good team right now as they are in the early stages of a rebuild.

With that, there are some really good players in their batting order that are exciting to watch on a nightly basis. That makes them one of those dangerous bad teams if you don’t play at your best. The White Sox have struggled to start this season but this is a good way to break out of it.

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Less than a week after retiring as head coach at Villanova, Jay Wright is leaving the door open to someday coaching in the NBA.

Appearing Tuesday on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Max, Wright said that he’s not looking to coach right now, but said “I’d be lying” if he said he hadn’t thought about coaching in the NBA.

“Not right now. That was something I always thought about,” Wright said of his NBA ambitions. “My experience with the Olympics kind of scratched that itch. … I kind of feel like I did it a little bit. And I loved coaching those guys.”

Wright was part of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s gold-medal-winning Team USA staff, a group that also included Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka.

“Right now I definitely need a break,” Wright said Tuesday. “Right now I’m looking forward to this [special assistant] position at Villanova. But honestly, down the road, I’d be lying — I don’t know what I’m going to feel like.”

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Wright announced last Wednesday that he was retiring after 21 seasons as men’s basketball coach at Villanova, a shocking move that came just weeks after he led the Wildcats to the Final Four.

Wright said he didn’t have the same passion to continue on as Villanova’s head coach, a point he reiterated Tuesday.

“I know I made the right decision, because I don’t think going into next year I’d be able to do the things I need to do to keep this program at a high level,” Wright said. “But I’m going to take this year and really throw myself into this position at Villanova, and then see what’s out there. I just didn’t want to be the coach at Villanova and not be 100% in.”

Wright, 60, is taking a new role as special assistant to the university president. He had been the Wildcats’ coach since 2001. He won two national championships, in 2016 and 2018, and made four Final Four appearances. He was named Naismith Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2016 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Fordham‘s Kyle Neptune, who spent 10 years under Wright as a video coordinator and an assistant coach, will take over as Villanova coach.

Information from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was used in this report.

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