DeMar DeRozan of the Sacramento Kings has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for his public criticism of the officiating during Wednesday’s 116-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Kings were up 93-84 after the third quarter, but the Nuggets finished the game outscoring Sacramento 32-17 in the fourth quarter to take the win. Helping Denver’s comeback was a 13-4 free-throw discrepancy in their favor, something DeRozan, who scored 35 points, brought up afterward.
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“The refs were terrible. Terrible as s***. It’s as simple as that,” DeRozan said via The Sacramento Bee. “There was a bunch of times we got hit, got smacked. It was three, four shots I took, clearly got hit, got smacked. They get the same call on the other end. Throws off our whole rhythm. Gives them momentum at home. Makes it tough on us to execute. It was a game we should have had.”
Kings interim head coach Doug Christie said afterward he wanted his players to worry about playing the game, not the refs’ performance.
“And that’s what I expect out of them, and they know this,” Christie said. “So when they start talking to the refs and barking at the refs, like, yo, chill that out. We don’t do that. We’re here to hoop. Let me deal with [the refs], and I will state our case and live to fight another day.
“I want their minds focused on the game plan. For the most part, we did that. There was a little bit where we got discombobulated, but in a high-leverage situation, it’s to be expected.”
After having their four-game win streak snapped by the Nuggets, the Kings will get back at it Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Sacramento sits 32-29 and in ninth place in the Western Conference.