Sitting at the press conference table after the match between the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers, coach Darko Rajakovic clearly showed his anger. His hands repeatedly slammed the table to emphasize the point that his team was robbed of a victory against the LA Lakers.
The Serbian coach’s criticism was directed at the referees when the Lakers received 23 free throws in the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis alone had 11 free throws in the last 12 minutes of the match, helping the big man born in 1993 score 41 points (season-high). ).
In addition, Davis alone had 14 penalties in this match, more than the entire Toronto Raptors team combined (13). All of these numbers were a turning point in the match where the two teams were separated by only 1 point, the final score being 132-131.
” Foolhardy. What happened today was absolute rubbish. This is a disgrace for both the referee and the tournament when they let this happen “, shared the Serbian coach who is going through his first season in the NBA.
“ In the fourth quarter, the opponent had 23 free throws and we only had 2. How can we compete with numbers like that? I know maybe the referee has a different perspective because the other side (Lakers – PV) has big stars, but we also have stars and don’t benefit at all.”
“ How can a player at the All-Star level of the tournament like Scottie Barnes continuously attack the basket, not take any shots, get into a lot of contact and only have exactly 2 free throws the whole game. How is this possible? Can anyone explain it to me? ”, Mr. Rajakovic said, pounding the table.
Video of Coach Rajakovic’s very angry sharing after the defeat against the Lakers
Anthony Davis scored 41 points and completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. He had 13-17 FG and threw in 14 free throws, including 8-8 FT in the final minute to lead the Lakers to victory.
LeBron James has 22 points and 12 assists. The entire Los Angeles team shot 16 3-pointers in the whole match, including 8 out of 9 players on the field with at least 1 successful long-range throw. Cam Reddish was the best shooter with 4-6 3PT, scoring 13 points.
This result helped the Los Angeles Lakers win two consecutive matches for the first time in more than a month. On Monday, they just unexpectedly defeated the LA Clippers with a score of 106-103 to end a 4-match losing streak.
On the other side of the field, there were 4 Raptors players who scored over 20 points in this match, led by Scottie Barnes with 26 points, 6 assists and 2 blocks. The remaining are Pascal Siakam (25 points), RJ Barrett (23 points, 10 rebounds, 10-13 FG) and Immanuel Quickley (21 points, 5 assists).
The entire Toronto Raptors team had 8-13 FT through 4 rounds and committed 26 fouls, 10 more than the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, the yellow and purple team stepped up to the free throw line 36 times, bringing in 28 points (77.8% FT rate).
“ If everyone wants them to win this match, let’s say it in advance, we will not play from the beginning and let them win, this is unacceptable ,” Toronto head coach added.
This is only the second loss since the Raptors exploded their transfer blockbuster, welcoming RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks. In addition, this is also the second loss in Toronto’s last 9 away trips to Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Lakers.
