The Clippers have now let 2 games slip away from them in the final minutes of their series against the Spurs. Those are victories they surely wish they had going forward, but unlike their feelings after game 2, they left game 5 feeling as though the refs had taken this game from them.
“I don’t complain much,” Rivers said. “I thought we got some really tough calls tonight, some brutal calls. The travel on Blake [Griffin], the goaltend on Matt [Barnes], which wasn’t a goaltend. You think about the playoffs and they’re single-possession games. Those possessions, those were crucial. J.J. [Redick] ‘s foul that got him out, J.J. didn’t touch anyone. It’s not why we lost, but those were big plays for us.”
Doc went on to point out that the refs had an effect on the result:
“I don’t know, it’s just — listen, the refs are trying hard, too, but God darn,” Rivers said. “Even [Chris Paul] ‘s tech, I still don’t have the explanation for that, and I want to find that out because when they make a shot, you have to throw it to the ref to get the ball back, and he got a tech for it. I’m just not sure of some things.”
The most controversial play was the call made against DeAndre Jordan with just a few seconds left in the game.
We’ve all seen the highlight above numerous times by now and it’s clear that the right call was made but it seems as tough many people are still of the opinion that the refs should swallow their whistle at the end of close games and let the players decide the game.
It seems that Doc is one person that favors that school of thought.
