MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers said he had to defend his player when he reacted to the $25,000 fine received from the NBA on Sunday for criticizing a crucial referee’s call in a 115-114 loss in Charlotte a day earlier.
Rivers offered an interesting metaphor to describe the situation.
The Bucks coach had argued that Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t foul when Milwaukee trailed by one with 7.3 seconds left, saying Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball simply slipped and fell. A foul was called on Antetokounmpo and Ball made two free throws to give Charlotte the lead for good.
Team manager Curtis Blair told a pool reporter that a postgame review determined there was actually no illegal contact on the play. Blair said the call would have been overturned on replay, but the Bucks had no challenge left.
“You’re in a tough spot,” Rivers said before Monday night’s 101-100 win over the Houston Rockets. “I was laughing with someone who is [like] That rare case where your girlfriend comes dressed badly and asks you: ‘What do you think?’ And if you answer correctly, you will get into a lot of trouble. That’s how I felt about the fine. “Everyone understands what I’m saying, right?”
After the game, Rivers said, “I thought the final play was the ref’s blown call.” Rivers added that “these are back-to-back games where a bad call was made on the last play.”
In the Bucks’ 127-120 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Antetokounmpo was called for a foul with one second left in regulation, although replays indicated nothing should have been called. That decision became irrelevant once Detroit’s Ronald Holland II missed both free throws.
