The Trail Blazers' winning streak continued, and Sabonis was suspended and fined after the game because of his headbutt.
The League issued a severe punishment, a suspension for two games plus a ten thousand US Dollar fine, which was much heavier than the punishment Guoyang Gan received for fighting.
David Stern personally announced this news, and afterwards, he called Jerry West, scolding him over the excessive violent conduct in the Trail Blazers' matches.
When Guoyang was involved, Larry Fleisher personally approached David Stern to plead on his behalf, but now Fleisher had passed away and, in the NBA circle, no one could surpass David Stern in prestige and authority.
After the 1988-1989 season ended, David Stern's contract expired. At that time, there were rumors that the NFL wanted to poach Stern to be their president.