Clippers' Paul George said the team was 'playing against the extra 3' in 111-108 loss to Nuggets
The list of people publicly calling out NBA referees continues to grow by the day through the first month of the season.
Paul George becomes the newest critic following the Los Angles Clippers' 111-108 loss to the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
In short, the guard's biggest critiques were that the referees were bad, the Clippers were playing against them, he should've gone to the line more and the technical foul call George received didn't sit well with him.
"I thought we played great," George said after the game. "It's tough, the adversity of playing against the extra three [officials]. I thought they were awful. But, [against the] defending champs, we got to play better. There's a lot to be positive about. I'm not one for moral victories, but I thought we showed more of a sign of a team tonight that's close to getting it over the hump."
George said the officials issued him the tech in the second quarter because he was arguing about a non-call on his breakaway dunk attempt.
That was something else George, who led all scorers with 35 points, wanted to discuss postgame. He believed he should've gone to the stripe more than five times.
"It was bad," said George about the final stretch. "Five free throws is very disrespectful on this night. So many times I got hit on layups, 3-pointers, it was constant.
"Jump shots, getting hit, smacked on the forearm. I mean, it was poor, a poor job. But, again, we got to be able to beat these guys on their floor and not rely on that. Again, they [are] calling something on one end, they got to call it on the other."
Those words led to a more interesting Last Two Minute Report than usual. On Wednesday, the league identified two incorrect no-calls as the game went down to the wire. One went in the favor of the Nuggets, one for the Clippers and both involved George.
The league admitted its refs missed a shooting foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a 3-pointer with about 45 seconds remaining, but also noted George got away with a travel about 30 seconds later on a lay-up.
Some of George's frustration likely stems from Los Angeles being on a six-game losing streak. Recently acquired guard James Harden has been in the lineup for five of those defeats. The other part of it is that the game was a part of the NBA's in-season tournament, so it was a doubly costly loss.
Tuesday was also the first night the lineup of George, Harden and Kawhi Leonard looked formidable. The Clippers came back from 13 down and even took a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Harden broke out for 21 points, while Leonard chipped in for 15.
The Nuggets needed an all-world performance from Nikola Jokić, who finished with 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to come out with the win.
