Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating. Rivers comments came following the Bucks loss at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday afternoon.
With Milwaukee leading by one with seven seconds to play, Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for foul against LaMelo Ball, when the Hornets guard was driving to the rim. Replay later showed that Ball tripped over his own feet and there was no contact made by Antetokounmpo. Because the Bucks had previously used their challenges to overturn calls earlier in the game, Rivers was unable to challenge the call.
Following the game, Rivers aired his complaints about the officials. The Bucks coach was upset at the call at the end of the game and a lack of foul calls for Antetokounmpo throughout the game.
“There was clearly not a foul. When you watch the video, the ref was blocked out by one of our players. You can’t guess at the end of the game,” Rivers said.
In a postgame pool report, crew chief Curtis Blair confirmed that the foul call was incorrect. In addition, the NBA’s Last Two Minute report also confirmed that the foul call was incorrect.