Nick Nurse blamed his team’s inability to keep Jayson Tatum quiet on the refereeing. According to him, the officials were too protective of the Celtics forward.
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The Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 102-99 in an exciting game. The game was close for its entirety, and the Raptors even held an 8-point lead as they headed out of the 4th quarter. Marcus Smart knocked down 5 straight 3-pointers to bring the Celtics back up. The scoreline went from 78-70 at the start of the 4th to 86-82 early in the quarter.
Nick Nurse blames referees for giving too many free throws to Jayson Tatum
Despite the Toronto Raptors shooting only 6 fewer free throws than the Boston Celtics as a team, Nick Nurse had some qualms with the officiating. He said the referees needed to be a bit more lax about his team’s defense on Jayson Tatum, who shot 14 free throws (as many as the Raptors in total).
Also Read: Why is Celtics’ Rovert Williams called Timelord?
Nick Nurse was asked how frustrating it was to see Jayson Tatum take over.
“The only frustrating part about it is this: He shoots 14 free throws, which is as much as our whole team shoots. … They took very good care of him tonight.” pic.twitter.com/KvIgFS3RXc
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 2, 2020
Doubters will no doubt have their fair share of criticism on Nick Nurse’s take. Instead of blaming his shooters, who disappointed again shooting only 28% from 3 as a team, he tried to deflect the blame onto other factors. No team wins an NBA playoff series shooting below 30% from 3 when its opponents are shooting above league average.
The Toronto Raptors are now staring at an uphill battle. They must win 4 of their next 5 prospective matches to advance to the next round of playoffs.
