On Nov. 23 and 24, the Cleveland Cavaliers faced a back-to-back, at home on Sunday against the struggling Clippers, then on the road Monday against the impressive Raptors, with their high-pressure defense. The Cavaliers chose to start Darius Garland in the game they most expected to win — against the Clippers — and rested him on Monday night in Toronto.

That decision will cost Toronto $ 250,000 for violating the NBA's player participation policy, a fine the league announced Thursday.

That Monday Toronto game was nationally televised as part of Peacock NBA Monday and "the violation occurred when the Cavaliers failed to make Garland available for the team's nationally-televised game on Nov. 24 and instead made him available on Nov. 23 which was not a nationally-televised game," the NBA said in its statement announcing the fine.

The league determined that Garland could have played both halves of the back-to-back. Garland has played in just eight of the Cavaliers' 23 games this season, battling a toe issue that slowed him in last season's playoffs.

The $ 250,000 sum was because this was the Cavaliers second violation of the player participation policy. Cleveland had previously been fined $ 100,000 for sitting Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley against Miami earlier in November. After that fine, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said, "I gotta look at the Cavs' best interest." I think my No. 1 job is to protect the health of our players."