Mike Budenholzer suspended one game for contact with official

The Atlanta Hawks will be without head coach Mike Budenholzer for Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers after he was hit with a one-game suspension for making contact with an official during Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The incident occurred at the 2:42 mark of the third quarter when Budenholzer was protesting what he perceived to be a non-call against Cleveland’s LeBron James. He made slight contact with official Brian Forte and was assessed a technical foul on the play.

“I fully understand and respect the decision of the NBA. I plan to reach out to Brian as soon as possible and intend to apologize for the contact that I made during last night’s game. The referees have the most difficult job on the court and do an outstanding job of managing the needs of the game, players and coaches. I accept the suspension, will learn from it and look forward to moving beyond this.”

Assistant Darvin Ham will take over head coaching duties for the team on Sunday.