BLAME GAME
Missed call from refs and a huge game from Westbrook snap Raptors streak
It was one of those afternoons when the officials played a role in the outcome, the kind of officiating that has stained the NBA, the kind of officiating that must somehow be addressed.
No one seems to have an answer and each game seems to feature some head coach or player going off.
It was the Raptors turn on Sunday, a day when the home side and visiting OKC Thunder played the kind of game that entertains and keeps fans fixated on every possession.
Sadly, OKC’s 132-125 epic win was overshadowed by the officials, a three-man crew that featured Marc Davis, Brent Barnaky and Haywoode Workman, a former player who played for the Raptors under head coach Butch Carter.
The stats sheet would show how the Thunder was called for 24 fouls, the Raptors whistled 25, but the most egregious non-call came late when DeMar DeRozan was mauled by Corey Brewer.
There was no call and DeRozan would soon light up, no longer capable of keeping his emotions in check as he got teed up twice.
Earlier, Kyle Lowry was shown the door after he picked up his sixth foul.
Mere seconds after DeRozan’s exit, Serge Ibaka got tossed.
The inevitable venom from the crowd then spewed.
The crowd then cheered as head coach Dwane Casey was tossed.
Needless to say, it was not a Sunday matinee to remember for the Raptors, whose franchise-tying 11-game win streak was snapped.
Metaphorically, the Raptors snapped.
This was playoff basketball and the Raptors will have to get used to nights in the post-season when the calls don’t go their way, even the most obvious.
Opponents know the best way to beat the Raptors is to get under their skin.
And when the officials are making a mockery of the game, there is no other recourse than to air it out.
“It was obvious,’’ began DeRozan of the technicals, ejections and missed calls and their role in the outcome. “You’ve seen it from all of us, the frustration. It was obvious, especially at the end of the game.”
The Brewer call was a clear-cut mistake, a complete non-call when a foul was warranted.
“He smacked the (crap) out of me,’’ said DeRozan in using a colourful word. “He smacked me. He tried to smack me because I had a layup. Period.
“I got fouled.”
With more and more veteran officials no longer on the court, a new breed has been asked to officiate a game that is quicker, more perimeter oriented, more entertaining.
Davis and Workman have been around the block.
“They (NBA) needs to do something,’’ continued DeRozan. “It’s not just us. It’s every game. But (Sunday), come on man, that can’t happen. It can’t happen.”
DeRozan was asked straight up whether the officials cost the Raptors the game.
“What you think?’’ he asked. “You think so? It’s obvious for us.”
Russell Westbrook posted his fifth straight triple-double as he led OKC to its sixth straight game.
Toronto yielded 40 first-quarter points.
Ibaka ended the day with a minus-23, missing nine straight shots after he made his first two on the Raptors’ first two possessions to begin the game.
DeRozan was a minus-21. The Raptors gave up 28 points off of 19 turnovers.
Casey wasn’t prepared to lose any money by ripping the officials.
“All we can ask for is fairness and consistency,’’ he said. “We’re going to complain the proper way (which will not change the outcome in any way), how the game got out of hand.
“We just watched the calls. We’re going to do it the proper way. I’m not going to step here and criticize the officials because we made enough mistakes down the stretch also. We shot ourselves in the foot, missed a lot of easy shots, layups, free throws, turnovers. And that’s a good team, but we’ll complain in the right and proper way in how games are called.
“Again, officials are going to miss calls. At the conjunction of the game when some of the calls were made, we got to get it right around the league, not just this game, but the entire league.”
It was a four-point game the Raptors’ frustration level got the better of them.
DeRozan missed a technical and then slipped at midcourt as OKC would score from the line in the wake of the turnover.
“DeRozan got hit on the layup,’’ said Casey on a clear foul that mysteriously went undetected by the officials. “It’s a four-point game and you can’t allow it to get out of hand like that.”
Lowry was given a rest day Friday when the Raptors prevailed in overtime against visiting Dallas.
He had it going offensively, but Lowry also turned the ball over four times before he fouled out.
“The game was lost,’’ he said. “It happens. I’m not going to get into that (officiating) stuff, whatever. We could have done some things better defensively and offensively.
“We had too many turnovers, missed some shots, missed some free throws, but things happen.”