Motta Suspended for Making Accusations

The NBA suspended Dallas Maverick Coach Dick Motta for one game and fined his team $5,000 Tuesday for suggesting that Houston Rocket Coach Bill Fitch was “messing around” with games to set up a favorable playoff schedule.

Rod Thorn, the NBA vice president for operations, said an investigation into Motta’s charges had found no basis for concluding that Fitch had done anything wrong as Motta had suggested in an interview last week.

Motta said it seemed that the Rockets wanted to get out of the same playoff bracket with the Lakers in the Western Conference.

If the Rockets were to finish fourth or fifth, they would meet the Lakers as early as the second round; if they finish sixth or seventh, however, they would not have to face the Lakers until the conference championship.

Motta first complained to Thorn and then made his views known in an interview published Friday in the The Dallas Morning News.

The league said the suspension would take place for a game tonight against Utah. It said the fine against the team was levied because it is responsible for comments by executive employees.