It wasn't about any of the players, actually. No, everybody was talking about the referees.
Over the course of the game, Boston received five technical fouls (while Miami received none), many of which seemed unwarranted.
In the second quarter, Ray Allen was T'd up for simply making a face in disagreement about a foul call as he walked away from referee Danny Crawford. A few minutes later, Kevin Garnett was given a tech for delay of game, after tipping the ball towards the sideline after it had gone through the hoop.
Also in the second quarter, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was given a technical for saying "Come on, Eddie" to referee Ed Malloy, who later gave Rajon Rondo a tech in the third quarter. After the game, Rivers said his technical foul "has to rank as the worst I've ever had."
Many of these calls seemed unjust, but the NBA isn't the only sport where a call seems to come out of left field.
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland went on a postgame rant after MLB umpires blew a call in the Tiger's 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday. In the second inning of a 1-1 game, Boston's Mike Aviles appeared to strike out swinging for the third out of the inning.
However, home plate umpire Jeff Nelson ruled it a foul ball into the dirt. The video replay showed otherwise, as Aviles clearly struck out swinging. Surely enough, Aviles got another attempt at bat from the missed call, and hit an RBI single that sparked a three-run inning for the Red Sox.
Leyland showed his disgust with the call, getting ejected from the game. He made sure his thoughts were heard after the game, declaring that the second-inning rally never should have happened because of the blown call.
Each sport has missed calls, blown calls, and calls that can make fans wonder what is going on in an official's head. But it is all part of the game, in each sport, as the officials are human just like the rest of us.
That being said, which sport do you think officiating has the biggest impact on?
