India, April 24 -- Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Thursday for publicly labeling the refree "terrible." However, he did earn a minor victory as the league rescinded a technical foul from late in the third quarter, admitting it had been "improperly assessed."

The fine follows the Suns' 120-107 Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. With Phoenix now trailing the defending champions 2-0 in the first-round series, Booker utilized his post-game press conference to voice his frustrations with the referees.

"It's definitely something that has to be looked at," Booker said postgame. "I heard (Oklahoma City's Alex) Caruso tell them to call the tech, and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I have...