Gilbert being Gilbert
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gilbert Arenas was admonished by the NBA for making $10 bets with fans during the Washington Wizards' loss at Portland on Wednesday.
"We spoke to Gilbert and explained the issue to him," NBA spokesman John Acunto said Sunday. "And he assured us he wouldn't do anything like this again."
Arenas made the bets as he bantered with fans throughout the Wizards' 100-98 loss. He was booed during pregame introductions and whenever he touched the ball because he had promised to score 50 points against the Trail Blazers.
After the game, Arenas said he bet a fan $10 that he would make the game-winning basket. He missed badly _ throwing up a shot that fell short of the rim _ and finished with only 19 points.
"I owe somebody 10 bucks," Arenas said. "I bet a fan if I had a chance I would make the last shot."
Arenas later elaborated on his nba.com blog, saying that he made $10 bets with two fans during the game and had obtained their e-mail addresses so that he could pay them off. The NBA since has removed the references to the bets from the blog.
Arenas, who had 30 points in a loss to the Clippers on Saturday, was not available for comment Sunday, a day off for the Wizards during their West Coast road trip that takes them next to Utah on Monday.