George cites “home cooking”, Hibbert says gameplan restricted him.
Indiana Pacers star Paul George believes that there was a discrepancy in the officiating during Game 4 against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
George’s comments will likely put him at risk of being fined by the NBA, but after the Heat took 17 more free throws and were called for 10 fewer fouls, they were able to secure a 102-90 victory which gave them a 3-1 series lead.
The Pacers star insisted that the calls were demoralising for his team and believes that the Heat were able to take the game on the basis of their 30 of 34 made free throws while the Pacers made 11 of 17.
“It’s just demoralizing when (the free throws are) lopsided,” George said, as reported by ESPN.
“I mean, I’m sorry to say, but that was the case. How rare is it we shoot 50 percent, turn the ball over around 13 or so times, outrebound a team, and lose a ball game? I thought we did a great job. I just thought we did a great job. … But, again, they made 30 free throws, and that put them over the edge.”
George went on to add that he thought his team outplayed the Heat and were equally as aggressive in their approach, but ultimately the game was won on the free throw line and there was an element of “home cooking” going on.
While David West echoed that sentiment, Luis Scola was keen to avoid any controversy and insisted that sometimes the calls go in your favour and other times they don’t, and given that Indiana lost in double digits, it wasn’t the only reason for their defeat.
Meanwhile, LeBron James, who had 32 points and 10 rebounds, questioned George’s interpretation of the statistics.
“We did only have five turnovers, seven steals, and 20 points off their turnovers,” James said. “That has nothing to do with the free throw line.”
Elsewhere, Pacers center Roy Hibbert claimed that coach Frank Vogel’s gameplan was the reason behind him going scoreless in the game, as he missed all four of his shots and fell into foul trouble.
“The game plan really wasn’t to utilize me as much; I’m just trying to be effective as I can,” Hibbert said.
“Would I like a little bit more touches early on? Yeah. But that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes.”
It was the fourth time in the playoffs and the sixth time in the last 21 games that Hibbert did not score a point.
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