Darko Rajakovic erupted after the Toronto Raptors 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rajakovic called out the poor officiating that favoured the Lakers.
The Lakers got awarded 23 free throws in the fourth quarter and the Raptors only got 2:
“This is completely BS, this is shame. Shame for the referees, shame for the league…if that’s the case, just let us know so we don’t show up for the game.”
Darko Rajakovic went OFF at the refs after a Raptors 1-point loss, after some suspect 4th quarter calls. pic.twitter.com/K9p7ZAzyTz
— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) January 10, 2024
Rajakovic has every right to be upset because there were many questionable calls down the stretch that went against the Raptors.
Immanuel Quickley was called for a flagrant on Cam Reddish, which led to him picking up his sixth personal foul and fouling out of the game:
Immanuel Quickley gets called for a flagrant foul and it’s his 6th of the night. pic.twitter.com/JKJgAbGOhT
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 10, 2024
Then with 24 seconds left in the game, with the Raptors down 3, RJ Barrett was called for an offensive foul on Anthony Davis which was very questionable. This was huge because it took away the game-tying three-pointer from Barnes:
Raptors want a flopping violation on AD. Can’t say I blame them, as the foul call wipes out the game tying 3 with 24 secs left pic.twitter.com/6kn4LMQsNQ
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) January 10, 2024
Davis scored 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter while going 11 for 11 at the line in the final frame. Davis shot 14 of the Lakers’ 36 free throws in the game. He had more free throw attempts than the entire Raptors team combined (13).
Rajakovic was right for what he did
Rajakovic is surely going to get a heavy fine following his postgame comments, but it will be worth it.
He earned a lot of respect for standing up for his team and notably for standing up for Barnes, who didn’t receive the benefit of the whistle in the fourth quarter.
In a one point loss for the Raptors, free throws and questionable calls made all of the difference.
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