Doc Rivers was right. But the NBA does not care.
The NBA fined the Milwaukee Bucks head coach $25,000 on Sunday after Rivers criticized officials for a blown call that set up the Charlotte Hornets with game-winning free throws against the Bucks on Saturday.
The call in question took place with 7.1 seconds remaining in Saturday’s game and the Bucks holding a 114-113 lead. Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball tripped and fell while driving to the basket. Officials called Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for a foul on the play when it was clear that Bell slipped and fell without being fouled.
The Bucks were out of challenges. Ball was awarded two free throws and hit both to secure a 115-114 Hornets win.
The call arrived a game after another controversial foul on Antetokounmpo put the Pistons on the line for potential game-winning free throws Wednesday night. Pistons forward Ron Holland missed both in a tie game with one second remaining in regulation in that instance, and the Bucks went on to an overtime win.
Rivers was critical of both calls in his postgame comments Saturday night.
“I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call,” Rivers said, per the Associated Press. “This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there has been an incorrect call made.”
“LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him. He slipped on his own. We come up with the ball and the game is over. So back-to-back games now we have had a call made against us that is incorrect. We were lucky in Detroit the kid missed two free throws. Tonight LaMelo Ball made the free throws.”
Crew chief Curtis Blair admitted after Saturday’s game that officials got the call wrong.
“During live play we called illegal leg-to-leg contact,” Blair said. “During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play.”
Officials essentially said the same thing that Rivers did but the league has a strict no-tolerance policy about criticizing officials, which Rivers is surely aware of.