The Milwaukee Bucks fell 100-97 at the hands of the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night and Damian Lillard was not pleased with what he feels was the reason why. Lillard believes a late foul called on him should have been a shooting foul, which would have given him three free throws instead of two.
The game’s officiating crew chief Tony Brothers explained the call in a pool report with Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.
“Because the contact occurred prior to the upward shooting motion,” Brothers said.
Lillard disagreed with the call and explained his view on the situation, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“They almost didn’t call it because that’s how good I timed it,” Lillard said. “I just picked it up and shot it and he fouled me at the same time. So I understand that they (think) it’s unrealistic, but at the same time with the understanding that they’re saying foul and I’m telling the refs, I heard them saying foul right away, so I just made the smarter play. But I definitely thought it should have been three free throws.”
Lillard finished the game with 22 points, one rebound, three assists and one steal while shooting 7-of-22 from the field and 4-of-11 from 3-point range.
The Bucks return to action on Thursday when they host the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m. CT.
Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on minutes restriction
Star Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been placed on a minutes restriction by head coach Doc Rivers.
Antetokounmpo has been recovering from a hamstring injury which might have something to do with the restriction. However, he played 40 additional seconds in the Bucks’ win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. He joked about the trust Rivers has in him.
“Nah, nah, if he trusted me, he should have played me 36 minutes” Antetokounmpo said while laughing. “He played me 40 seconds more. He just couldn’t get me out, that’s why. He tried to get me out, but he couldn’t.
“But yeah, hopefully moving forward I don’t like playing with minutes restriction. I don’t know how long this is going to go for, but hopefully, I can get back to playing my regular minutes and my regular rotation, so I can get my rhythm back.”
Antetokounmpo has been playing at a high level recently and has played a role in the Bucks’ success when healthy this season. He will aim to spend more time on the floor as the Bucks compete for playoff position.
The post Bucks’ Damian Lillard reacts to controversial call that helped lose game vs. Rockets appeared first on ClutchPoints.
