The Celtics led by as many as 23 points in Atlanta on Tuesday, before ultimately falling to the Hawks.
And at least one player on Boston’s side believes the officiating had something to do with it.
Kyle Korver led the Hawks in scoring, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Evan Turner of the Celtics used Korver as an example when pointing out his version of how the referees called this particular matchup.
From Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:Turner was annoyed at a couple of calls in particular, including one in the third quarter when he and Kyle Korver chased for a loose ball and Turner was called for causing Korver to fall. Turner was assigned to the 3-point specialist most of the night and it was a frustrating experience. ...
“They started pressuring and it’s tough to score when you have two hands inside your jersey as well,” he said. “At the same time, I got a foul call on Korver and they said I pushed him and tripped him and he just fell. He can’t guard to save his life and he’s grabbing Marcus Thornton and he’s grabbing me and he has no business being in the game on the defensive end but what can you possibly do if they’re allowed to have their hands on you?”
Korver had a hot shooting night, certainly. But Turner and Thornton combined to shoot a respectable 8-of-14 from the field, so Korver’s “grabbing” couldn’t have bothered either player all that much.
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Frustration is understandable after blowing such a large lead. But any loss is ultimately almost never the fault of the officials.
