SALT LAKE CITY — John Wall ripped into the referees after his Washington Wizards lost to the Utah Jazz 95-88 on Friday night, and a fine from the league could be coming.
The All-Star guard got his 15th technical foul of the year in the third quarter when he made contact with his right hand just below Rudy Gobert’s belt while fighting around a screen. Wall entered the night with the third-most technicals in the league.
Wall also was upset because the Jazz shot 31 free throws compared to 16 by the Wizards.
“I haven’t been saying nothing to the refs lately because I know what situation I’ve been in, but the way they’ve been officiating today doesn’t make no sense,” Wall said. “You shoot 31 free throws to 16. We’re an aggressive team that attacks the basket. That don’t make no sense. I had to get [my arm] bandaged up because I’m bleeding and the ref tells me that’s not a foul. It’s getting out of hand.
“We didn’t lose this game. The refs made us lose this game. We fought hard to give ourselves a chance. But you don’t shoot 31 free throws to 16 the way we attack the basket as a team. That’s how I feel about it.”
Wall said he has tried unsuccessfully to get some of his technical fouls rescinded this season.
“Other players have and they got it,” he said. “All I can do is keep my mouth shut like I’ve been doing. I could have seen if I would have got a flagrant 1 for that, but a technical foul for that — that’s outrageous.”
Coach Scott Brooks wasn’t pleased either.
“They said that it was a ‘hostile act,'” Brooks said. “I’ve been around a lot of fights back when I played, and come on. A hostile act? Really? It’s ridiculous. We have to control our emotions, but he was playing defense. … He went through a screen. The guy set a great screen.
“If anything, it’s accidental contact,” he added. “It’s not my job to make those decisions. I have to coach the team. That’s a hard enough job as it is. Players have to play. Officials have to official. I have a lot of respect for league, and obviously that’s not a T.”
The Wizards were called for 23 fouls compared to 18 on the Jazz.
“It happens throughout the whole course of the basketball game, guys were fighting over screens,” Wall said. “It wasn’t like I ran into him and hit him on purpose and just stopped. I didn’t know what happened. I kept playing.
“The ref said it was a technical foul. There wasn’t nothing exchanged between us, so I was just fighting over a screen and I didn’t know I hit him in any area. I just kept playing basketball.”
Courtesy: ESPN.com
