Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic blasted the officiating following his team’s 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night.
Upset with the free throw disparity–the Lakers shot 36 free throws, including 14 attempts by Anthony Davis, compared to the Raptors’ 13 tries as a team–Rajakovic likely earned himself a fine from the NBA for his comments.
“That’s outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,” Rajakovic said, via ESPN. “This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.
“How [is it] possible that Scottie Barnes, who is All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game. How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?”
Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic was heated in the postgame presser, unhappy with the Lakers 23 free throw attempts in the 4Q pic.twitter.com/1xvoXrUM6k
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 10, 2024
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Rajakovic later said if the Lakers “had to win tonight” then “let us know, so we don’t show up for the game.”
Davis scored a game-high 41 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter, while LeBron James added 22 points and 12 assists for LA.
Four Raptors starters contributed more than 20 points each and seven Toronto players scored in double figures, led by 26 from Barnes and 25 from Pascal Siakam.