Mar 7, 2019; Portland, OR, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George (13) takes a shot during shoot around before Oklahoma plays Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
March 10, 2019
The NBA fined Oklahoma City star Paul George $25,000 on Saturday for his criticism of the officiating following the Thunder’s 118-110 loss to the Clippers on Friday night in Los Angeles.
The fine was announced by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league’s vice president of basketball operations.
George and teammates Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams all fouled out over the final four minutes of the game.
“It’s just bad officiating,” George said. “I’m sorry, just bad officiating. We don’t get a fair whistle. We haven’t gotten a fair whistle all year.
“Somebody’s got to look into this. It’s getting out of hand, where we somehow just walk teams to the line. And there’s nobody that gets more contact. If I don’t speak for myself, I speak for Russ. There’s nobody that gets more contact than Russ going to the basket. And it’s just crazy. I don’t understand it. It’s a piece of (expletive) being on that floor.”
The Clippers took 46 free-throw attempts in the game, with slashing guard Lou Williams Danilo Gallianri each going to the foul line 15 times. The Thunder had 26 free-throw attempts as a team.
“We’re giving everything we got,” George continued. “We’re playing hard. We’re getting grabbed. We’re getting scratched, clawed, held, shoved. And there’s nothing for it. The officials just get to walk out, and there’s nothing that penalizes them for not officiating the game the right way.”
–Field Level Media
