Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers called out the league's officiating after his team fell behind, 3-2, in its first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. The Clippers lost Game 5, 111-107, and Rivers said afterwards he felt some "brutal calls" by the referees were a factor in his team's defeat, per ESPN L.A.
Doc Rivers criticizes referees for ‘brutal calls’ after Clippers’ Game 5 loss
Rivers wasn’t happy after watching his team go down 3-2 in the first round after a close defeat.
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“I don’t complain much,” Rivers said. “I thought we got some really tough calls tonight, some brutal calls. The travel on Blake [Griffin], the goaltend on Matt [Barnes], which wasn’t a goaltend. You think about the playoffs, and they’re single-possession games. Those possessions, those were crucial. J.J. [Redick] ‘s foul that got him out, J.J. didn’t touch anyone. It’s not why we lost, but those were big plays for us.”
Rivers was fined $25,000 by the league for his comments.
The fouls were part of a close, contested game between two of the top contenders in the Western Conference. One of the biggest plays saw Los Angeles big man DeAndre Jordan tip a ball still over the cylinder in the final seconds, earning a whistle and basket interference call from the official.
That play wasn't controversial -- it was an obvious call -- but Rivers listed several other plays that he felt weren't called properly. One of them led to J.J. Redick, the team's starting shooting guard, fouling out late in the fourth quarter on a questionable foul.
All those whistles didn’t lead to a disadvantage at the free throw line, though, where the Clippers took 42 shots thanks to the Spurs’ hack-a-Jordan strategy. It largely worked, as Jordan hit just 7-of-16 attempts, but San Antonio also committed five more fouls than L.A.
Not every play Rivers was upset with involved a foul call, but he was noticeably frustrated after his team lost arguably the biggest game of the season. With that said, there are a lot of reasons the Clippers lost the game, including Jordan’s late gaffe and an ugly 1-of-14 effort from three-point range. Even if the refs missed a call or two, this was a missed opportunity for the Clippers to turn the series against the defending champs. It’s easy to see why Rivers might be frustrated.
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