Paul George blames officiating for Game 4 loss
The Indiana Pacers lost Game 4 to the Miami Heat on Monday, and find themselves in a 3-1 hole as the series shifts back to Indiana for Game 5. Coming off another tough loss, Paul George decided to blame the officiating for the unfortunate result.
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In the post-game press conference, George made it clear that he thought his team deserved to win the game and that the reigning champions benefited from favorable foul calls, according to ESPN.
“It’s just demoralizing when (the free throws are) lopsided,” George said. “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.”
“I feel like we’re just as aggressive as they are attacking the basket and making plays at the rim,” George said. “Maybe this was just home cooking.”
The Heat made 30 of their 34 free throws on the night, which was certainly a key statistic. Indiana got to the line 17 times, knocking down 11 free throws themselves. Needless to say, LeBron James didn’t agree that the referees had anything to do with the final result.
“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.”
James is correct here, as Miami did a terrific job taking care of the ball all night long. The Heat also forced a lot of turnovers by closing out the passing lanes, and the seven to one advantage in steals showed just that. Basically, LeBron’s response showed that he can handpick stats off the box score as well, which is what George was trying to do in the first place.