The Golden State Warriors won the opening game of their series with the Houston Rockets, but the officiating was dubious and discussion about it is still going on.
Rockets’ Chris Paul fined for Game 1 contact with the ref, but not suspended | USA Today
Houston Rockets’ point guard Chris Paul made reckless contact with a referee late in a 104-100 defeat to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semis and got a $35,000 fine but he’s not going to serve a suspension.
Paul got his second technical and was ejected from the game with 4.4 seconds to go and spoke about his actions.
“I’ve definitely got to be better,” Paul said. “I shouldn’t have got those techs and put my team in those situations, but the game’s always going to be emotional. If I’m not emotional, I’m not me, but I’ve definitely got to be better for my team.”
Interesting exchange between Chris Paul and a reporter who asked him about his late-game ejection 👀 pic.twitter.com/rnUK3rnc8n
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 29, 2019
NBA: Curry should have fouled out in Game 1 | ESPN
The NBA reviewed officiating from Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets and the league concluded that Stephen Curry should have fouled out with 1:11 remaining and that referees made wrong decision on at least three occasions.
These little things can decide an outcome which was the case in the Warriors’ win as Curry remained on the floor and hit a crucial triple with only 24 seconds to go.
Not only that they were frustrated with officiating in this game, the Rockets are far from happy with referees in duels with the Warriors in the last two seasons as well.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry should have fouled out of Sunday’s Game 1 win over the Rockets. At least, that’s what the NBA ruled in its last-two-minute report.https://t.co/VNbZPvNN23
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) April 29, 2019
Officiating becomes the focus of Warriors-Rockets Game 1 | Associated Press
The dust following Game 1 of the Western Conference semis still didn’t settle thanks to poor officiating and some seriously bad decisions from referees.
The Rockets were quite unhappy with treatment against the reigning champions, while the Warriors are surprised this became a public matter.
“I thought we were going to talk about the game,” joked Steve Kerr. “Watching the tape, both teams just got after it and competed. But we just watched the tape upstairs. You don’t think there were 10 calls that we thought we got fouled? This is how it goes. And every coach in the league will tell you the same thing: You watch the tape and you go, ‘Man, that’s a foul, that’s a foul.’ It’s the nature of the game. It’s very, very difficult to officiate an NBA game. There’s all kinds of gray area, and in the modern game a lot of players have gotten really good at deception, creating contact. I don’t remember people falling down on 3-point shots all the time when I played.”
Steve Kerr enters his presser, flops on a reporter and jokes it should be a foul. He then discusses the noise coming out of the Rockets camp at length. pic.twitter.com/KS0PC8DmvE
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 29, 2019
NBA playoffs 2019: Nikola Jokic ‘like a Tom Brady,’ Nuggets’ Paul Millsap says | Sporting News
Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a 121-113 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semis with a great performance of 37 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
His teammate Paul Millsap is impressed with the Joker’s skills and even compared the Serbian to New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady.
“He’s like a quarterback out there,” Millsap added. “I consider him like a Tom Brady. He’s always going to pick you apart and make the right reads. Commend him for doing that at this stage in his career. It’s unbelievable.”
Paul Millsap on Nikola Jokic dissecting defenses and making the right play: “I consider him like a Tom Brady.” pic.twitter.com/Z38yK3IpI6
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) April 30, 2019
Butler scores 30 as 76ers beat Raptors 94-89 to even series| Associated Press
Philadelphia 76ers tied the series with Toronto Raptors at one as Jimmy Butler’s big display helped them to snap a 14-game losing streak in Toronto. Jimmy “Buckets” posted a double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds but he stressed how the defense is important to win games.
“Everybody wants to paint the picture that we haven’t won here in however many years,” Butler said. “I’m just glad that we came out on top. We don’t care how many games we’ve lost, nothing like that.”
“Jimmy Butler is a gamer,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “He wasn’t going to be quiet this whole series.”
"Defense! Whenever we let our defense dictate our offense, we're such a great team!"@JimmyButler after dropping 30 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST in the @sixers Game 2 victory in Toronto! #PhilaUnite pic.twitter.com/MyBD6mAfY4
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2019
