LOS ANGELES — Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic went on a furious, table-pounding tirade against the officiating after the Los Angeles Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter of a 132-131 win over the Raptors on Tuesday night.
Rajakovic, Toronto’s first-year head coach, ripped the game’s free throw disparity after Anthony Davis scored 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter while going 11-for-11 at the line in the final period. Davis shot 14 of the Lakers’ 36 free throws, while the entire Toronto roster shot only 13.
«It’s outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,» Rajakovic said. «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?» Rajakovic added, slapping the table repeatedly for emphasis. «How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?»
Davis grabbed 11 rebounds and went 13-for-17 while carrying the Lakers down the stretch. He completed his masterful performance by scoring 10 points in the final 1:01, including eight free throws without a miss, and making a key block on Barnes.
Davis’ 14 free throw attempts were a season high for the Lakers big man.
«He was able to get a lot of touches, and guys were finding him,» Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Davis. «And his ability to get to the free throw line and knock down free throws, it’s just a matter of reading the game and seeing how it’s going.»
Rajakovic apparently believed the officials never gave his team a chance.
«They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know, so we don’t show up for the game,» Rajakovic said. «Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening first time for us. Scottie Barnes is going to be [an] All-Star. He’s going to be the face of this league, and what’s happening over here during whole season … it’s complete crap.»
Barnes scored 26 points, and Pascal Siakam had 25 for the Raptors, who lost for only the second time in five games since acquiring RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley from New York for OG Anunoby. Barrett scored 23 points, and Quickley had 21 with four 3-pointers but fouled out when he elbowed Cam Reddish in the face for a flagrant foul with 3:52 to play.
Barrett was called for an offensive foul that wiped out a tying 3-pointer by Barnes with 24.8 seconds to play.
Asked if he was given an explanation for the offensive foul call, Rajakovic replied, «No, there is no explanation. They review it and see what they want to see. They don’t hear us, what we got to say. They don’t want to hear the players.
«How are we supposed to play? It’s happening a lot, but I’m telling our guys be professional, keep fighting, keep going for the next one. But until when? For how long?»
«They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know, so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening first time for us.»
Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic
The free throws were relatively even through the first three quarters, 13 for L.A. and 11 for Toronto, before the Lakers’ total ballooned in the fourth.
LeBron James, when asked about the discrepancy, said: «I feel like they fouled and we didn’t.»
Rajakovic’s rant likely will earn him a significant fine from the NBA, but his players appeared to appreciate his verbal combativeness.
«It just says that he’s all for us as a family, as a team,» said Thaddeus Young, who scored 10 points as Toronto’s starting center in place of the injured Jakob Poeltl. «We’re always going to stick together. We’re always going to be behind one another as a family, as a team. We’re always going to stick together, and he’s always been behind us since day one coming in here. We love Darko to death. We think the world of Coach, and we definitely appreciate him going to bat for us.»
Information from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and The Associated Press was included in this report.