DeMar DeRozan Fined $15,000 for Criticizing Officials After Warriors Game

Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for saying it felt like the Raptors were "playing 5-on-8" during their 125-123 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre.Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer passed along word of the punishment for "public criticism of the officiating.""It's frustrating being out there feeling you playing 5-on-8," DeRozan told reporters after the game. "Some of those calls were terrible. Period."Along with what the Raptors believe were missed calls, they were also on the wrong end of a controversial video review in the final seconds.The officials initially ruled it was Toronto's possession after the ball went out of bounds off Warriors superstar Stephen Curry with one second left. After review, they changed the decision to Golden State ball because DeRozan knocked it out with three seconds on the clock."I thought you couldn't even do that. I'm not even a referee, and I know that rule," DeRozan said. "Somebody correct me if I'm wrong."While Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cubanagreedwith DeRozan's assessment on social media, NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations, Joe Borgia, released a statement to theWashington Postexplaining they can review the entire sequence."Instant replay review was used because the officials were unsure who should be awarded possession after the ball went out of bounds," he said. "During replay, we checked the loose ball sequence at the sideline, and we determined that Toronto's DeMar DeRozan caused the ball to go out of bounds with three seconds remaining. The Warriors were awarded the ball, and the clock was reset to three seconds."DeRozan was previouslyfined $25,000last week for an altercation with Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic at the end of the teams' Jan. 9 contest.
Click here to read full news..