Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks has been suspended one game without pay and fined $25,000 for entering the referees’ locker room after the Nets’ loss to Philadelphia in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Marks — who The Post reported was given a contract extension by the Nets — will miss Game 5 after a move designed not just to show displeasure with the calls but to let his players know that the front office had their backs.
The Nets’ 112-108 loss Saturday at a frenzied Barclays Center marked the boiling point of a testy series that has become more and more heated.
After Sixers star Joel Embiid threw a Flagrant 1 elbow to Jarrett Allen’s face in Game 2 that the Nets felt warranted a Flagrant 2 and ejection — then laughed about it in the postgame press conference with Ben Simmons — the Nets took offense.
Embiid committed another Flagrant 1 foul on Allen on Saturday, which prompted Jared Dudley to push him. Jimmy Butler shoved Dudley in the back, and when Simmons tried to restrain Dudley from going after Embiid both of them tumbled into the front row.
Dudley and Butler both got ejected, with the 6-foot-10 Marks giving the 6-7 Dudley the highest of high-fives as he was escorted off the court and down the hallway.
The Nets were also vexed over a push in the back by Simmons that got JJ Redick open for a huge 3-pointer, and outright incensed over the final play, when both Allen and coach Kenny Atkinson said Tobias Harris committed a wrap-around on Allen that went uncalled and led to the center’s game-sealing turnover with four seconds left.
Afterward, Marks was apparently fed up with the refs.
“I’ve been fed up since last year,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “That’s why I made those comments last year.”
It appears Marks finally reached his point guard’s level of frustration.
“My partners and I have spoken and the entire Nets ownership group support our GM Sean Marks for protesting the wrong calls and missed calls,” Nets co-owner Joe Tsai tweeted. “NBA rules are rules and we respect that, but our players and fans expect things to be fair.”
The Nets were also vexed over a push in the back by Simmons that led to JJ Redick’s huge 3-pointer, and outright incensed over the final play, when Tobias Harris committed a wrap-around on Allen that went uncalled and led to the Nets center’s game-sealing turnover.
The NBA Last Two Minute Report confirmed the officials had missed the wrap-around call.
He went into the referees’ locker room afterward, and got suspended according to NBA League Operations president Byron Spruell. He’ll serve his suspension Tuesday when the Nets go to Philadelphia for Game 5.
Brooklyn trails the series 3-1 and is facing elimination Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.
Former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks — no relation — now works for ESPN and said while going into the ref’s locker room isn’t allowed, it was understandable.
“Trust me. Anybody who has worked for a team has had thoughts of doing what Sean Marks did yesterday in Brooklyn,” Bobby Marks tweeted. “Certainly not allowed but the human element and emotions take over after a crushing loss, especially in the playoffs.”
Marks was pivotal in getting the Brooklyn Brigade fan section set up, even hand-delivering them multiple cases of Modelo over the course of the season. And they offered the suspended GM an alternative venue from which to watch Game 5.
A GoFundMe fundraiser was set up by Keith Ryan Joseph to “Pay Sean Marks Fine.”
Marks inked a four-year, $9 million deal in 2016. The team hasn’t confirmed The Post’s report of his extension, or released terms of his new upgraded deal.