The San Antonio Spurs have been fined $25,000 for violating the NBA's resting policies despite winning by 26 points.

This occurs in the wake of the Toronto Raptors being fined for the same thing just the other day. The NBA looks to be stamping down on their new anti-tanking rules in a way not yet seen this season. These new rules are all about keeping a competitive balance as well as making sure as many games as possible have the stars people want to watch.

The Spurs dominated the Phoenix Suns in the game they were fined for, winning by a score of 111-85. They did this despite sitting DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and Patty Mills. Backup center Drew Eubanks dominated DeAndre Ayton inside and the Spurs' young players played an impressive, swarming defense that smothered the Suns.

The Spurs are currently 27-28 and firmly in one of the play-in spots in the Western Conference. They are tied with the Golden State Warriors for ninth place and 2.5 games ahead of the Sacramento Kings, who are in the eleventh seed. The Spurs using the end of the regular season to rest their stars makes a lot of sense considering they have to win two straight games in the play-in if they want to make the playoffs as the eighth seed.

The NBA cracking down on the resting policy has drawn much criticism from fans. The season has already been long, gruel, and somewhat meaningless. They have also refrained from punishing the Oklahoma City Thunder for sitting Al Horford for the majority of the second half of the season. The frustration with the season as a whole has been palpable from all sides and the league fining teams only adds to that frustration.