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LOS ANGELES – Unable to hold his tongue longer, exasperated Luke Walton tore off the official for what he thought were several missed calls to the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
After the Lakers fell to 0-3 to start the season after a 143-142 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the steam coach opened his post-game press conference with comments. on the officials until now this season.
"Let me start here … I was not going to say anything … I was going to save my money, but I can not do it anymore," Walton said. "His [74] points in the painting [by the Lakers] up to 50 [and yet] once again they beat us in the free throw line – 38 free throws [to 26 by the Lakers]. Look at the game where I had a technical foul. Look what happened to LeBron James's arm. It's the same as James Harden and Chris Paul [drew fouls on and] shot 30 free throws on us the night before. … We score 70 points per night. In the painting. "
Walton added, "Look at how Josh Hart is playing this game." He played 40 minutes tonight, just tackling the rim, zero free throws tonight, so it does not matter. they're young, but if we're going to play a certain way, do not reward people who are flopping 30 feet from the hole in games that have nothing to do with this possession. "They just flop to see if they commit so do not reward the players who physically go to the basket and get hit, that's not right. "
The Spurs and Lakers had fun for 53 minutes, but it was Patty Mills – not LeBron James – who played the role of the hero in the final seconds.
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Patty Mills beat a licensed rider with 6.8 seconds to go and the San Antonio Spurs did not defeat the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James, catching up a six-point deficit in the last minute of overtime for a win Wild 143-142 Monday night.
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Walton's frustration has steadily grown since the start of the pre-season, while the Lakers were struggling to adapt to new "points of education" or points put forward. by the officials on the freedom of movement on the perimeter and in the post. The NBA wants to reduce "arm wraps, seizures and dislodgement by offensive and defensive players".
The Lakers were visibly frustrated by what they thought was a lack of calls against the Spurs after several players had led the way and were convinced that they had been at fault. The Lakers consider themselves the most aggressive and attacking team after dominating the Spurs 74-50.
LaMarcus Aldridge (37 points) and DeMar DeRozan (32 points) were combined 27 times, one more than the entire Lakers team. It was the second time in a row that the Lakers were seeing a pair of stars go towards the line more than their entire team.
During Saturday's 124-135 loss to Houston, the Lakers saw the Rockets shoot 30 free throws. Harden and Paul have allied themselves 24 times. The Lakers team shot a total of 18 free throws. During this defeat, the Lakers dominated the Rockets 68-52 in the paint.
Several times Monday night, James – who finished with 32 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds – incredulously raised his arms in the air and asked, frustrated, where was the fault when he felt hit with paint strokes.
"Uh, I mean it's the – nothing," James replied when asked when he was officiating. "Nothing."
James went to the finish line 11 times, but missed two free throws with 12.8 seconds to go, the Lakers staying at one point in advance. Patty Mills hit 22 seconds later to relaunch the Spurs.
James later admitted that it was difficult to learn the new points of emphasis.
"It's just difficult with the new rules – you can literally not touch anyone – well, you can touch someone defensively," James said sarcastically. "You can not, there's nothing [you can do]. We do not know We are trying to understand. But every time we're on the defensive, especially in the third quarter, we keep putting them on the free throw line. But we must try to understand this because it simply gives teams too many easy opportunities to go and shoot free throws. "
The Lakers played without starters Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram after both were suspended for their roles in a scrum with Paul and the Rockets. During this defeat, the Lakers were frustrated by some of the calls, notably by Ingram. The third-year striker pushed Harden and began to make a face with official Jason Phillips moments before the start of a bare-brawl between Paul and Rondo.
Before the fight, the Lakers felt the tension mounted after they thought the Houston James Ennis III was wearing Hart and had been flagrantly fouled.
In the early loss of the season against the Lakers in Portland, the Walton team went on the line 29 times, tied with the Blazers. But the Lakers felt they were the most aggressive team, surpassing Portland 70-56. Against San Antonio, Walton ran to the ground and screamed after an official after having the feeling that James had been a victim of a fault while driving through the driveway. James ended up losing the ball for a call-out turnout with just over seven minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Hart, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds, said it was "always frustrating" not to receive calls. But the second-year guard said the Lakers players do not want to react negatively and hurt the team.
"I do not want to lose money," said the center JaVale McGee, who made a mistake early on overtime. "No matter [Walton] says I cosign him. Does that mean I'm losing money? I hope not. "
Walton does not dispute the fact that the Lakers do their share of personal fouls, averaging 25.3 fouls in three games. But he also wants his opponents to be whistled.
"We are fouled, it's partly our fault," Walton said. "We will continue to improve on this."
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