Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers reacts to a name in the course of the first half of an NBA basketball sport Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Picture/Morry Gash)
NEW YORK — Doc Rivers was proper. It nonetheless price him $25,000.
Rivers, the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, was fined by the NBA on Sunday, a day after he publicly criticized the officiating that led to the deciding factors in a 115-114 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Article continues after this commercial
Rivers argued Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t commit a foul with the Bucks trailing by one with 7.3 seconds left, saying Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball merely slipped and fell. Ball made two free throws to present Charlotte the lead for good.
READ: NBA: Refs admit mistake on Giannis foul that led to Bucks loss
“I believed the ultimate play was the ref blowing a name,” Rivers stated after that sport. “That is back-to-back video games now the place on the ultimate play there was an incorrect name made.”
It wasn’t related that the referees wound up agreeing with Rivers.
Article continues after this commercial
“Throughout dwell play we known as unlawful leg-to-leg contact,” crew chief Curtis Blair instructed a pool reporter in remarks distributed by the NBA. “Throughout postgame evaluate once we seemed on the play there was no unlawful contact on the play.”
READ: NBA: Giannis pours in 59 factors to steer Bucks previous Pistons in OT
Antetokounmpo’s jumper on the buzzer rimmed out and the Hornets escaped with the win. Ball was fined $100,000 on Sunday for utilizing an anti-gay slur in his postgame remarks, when requested to explain Charlotte’s protection on the ultimate play towards Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks argued about late-game officiating this previous Wednesday as effectively, when Antetokounmpo was whistled for a phantom name with a second left in regulation and the rating tied at 111 towards Detroit. Pistons ahead Ron Holland II missed two free throws after that decision, the sport went into extra time and the Bucks prevailed 127-120 behind 59 factors from Antetokounmpo.
“We had been fortunate in Detroit the child missed two free throws,” Rivers stated Saturday. “Tonight, LaMelo Ball made the free throws.”
