Warriors' Livingston suspended one game, ref removed for one week after incident

Livingston and official Courtney Kirkland got into a heated argument during Sunday's game

After watching Warriors guard Shaun Livingston make physical contact with NBA referee Courtney Kirkland during Golden State's 123-95 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday, many expected that Livingston would be suspended.

What we weren't sure about, however, was whether or not Kirkland would be punished for his role in the incident. As it turns out, both Livingston and Kirkland have been suspended by the league due to their actions. Livingston has been suspended for one game, while Kirkland has been removed form the officiating rotation for one week. From the NBA:

NBA Official Courtney Kirkland has been removed from the league's officiating rotation for one week and Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston has been suspended one game without pay for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which began when Livingston aggressively approached Kirkland while protesting a non-call, occurred with 6:24 remaining in the second quarter of the Warriors' 123-95 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday, Dec. 3 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

As part of the incident, Livingston and Kirkland bumped heads, and Livingston was assessed a technical foul and ejected for making contact with a game official. Upon league office review, it was determined that Kirkland moved toward Livingston and shared responsibility for the contact that occurred.

Kirkland's suspension will begin tonight and run through Sunday, Dec. 10. He will be eligible to return to game action on Monday, Dec. 11.

Livingston will serve his suspension tonight when the Warriors play the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.

As you can see in video of the forehead-to-forehead incident below, Kirkland clearly moves in Livingston's direction rather than walking away from him.

Any time a player makes contact with an official, an ejection and suspension are likely to be administered. But this was the odd case where the official assumed partial responsibility, and was therefore also disciplined by the NBA.

Without Livingston, the Warriors will likely give more minutes to second-year guard Patrick McCaw in New Orleans as they try to win their fourth straight game.