Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic launched a furious rant about the officiating in their 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter of the win, with Anthony Davis scoring 11 from 11 from the free throw line during that period.
Davis shot 14 of the Lakers’ 36 free throws, while the Raptors were only awarded 13 free throws in the entire games, with only two of those coming in the final quarter.
And it was that free throw disparity which caught Rajakovic’s ire, as he launched into an impassioned rant about the officials during the post-match press conference at the crypto.com arena.
What did Darko Rajakovic say during his rant?
“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. 23 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? How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?
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A MUST WATCH as Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic goes on a crazy rant after defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers 😳 🏀 pic.twitter.com/TvWlnNzAHz
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 10, 2024
“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.
“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 c**p.”
The Raptors, who recently acquired RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in a trade deal with the New York Knicks, are currently in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, one place outside of the play-in places, during Rajakovic’s first season in charge.
Rajakovic has previously been an assistant coach at Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies.
