Evan Turner had some strong words for the referees Tuesday after the Boston Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Turner, who’s know for his candidness in postgame interviews, said his beef with the zebras after Boston’s 99-91 loss centered around one call made late in the fourth quarter.
With just under four minutes remaining and the Celtics trailing by five, guard Avery Bradley was whistled for a shooting foul on Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving.
The foul, which came as the shot clock expired, change the course of the game. Irving sank both of his free throws, and Cleveland never trailed by fewer than six points the rest of the way.
“Avery is a known defender,” Turner told reporters after the game. “So, they called a foul right there, and they called a foul on the guys behind the backboard. In that type of possession, that should never be called. It wasn’t a playable shot. It wasn’t a makeable shot. It wasn’t anything. That was a crazy call. … That was the only tough part about (Game 2). That didn’t really make any sense.
“You just can’t really worry about it. You try to do the right thing. The refs do a great (job) — are trying their hardest and everything like that. They can’t see everything. You just try to play hard the way you possibly can. But certain things — the one behind the backboard, 35 feet or whatever in the corner, was a crazy call. That was a big game-changer down the stretch.”
Fouls were an issue for the Celtics throughout the second half. They picked up four in the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter and two in the first 42 seconds of the fourth, putting them in a precarious position against a powerful Cavs offense led by Irving and LeBron James.
“You can’t,” Turner said when asked how to guard James and Irving when a team is in foul trouble. “It’s almost tough, because you have to gauge what you can do. Sometimes when you’re in the heat of the game and you feel like you’re not fouling, it’s hard to gauge what is a foul and what’s not a foul. And at the same time, they’re tricky players. One’s a physical force, and other one is great with the ball, and they can make tough shots.
Irving and James combined to score all 24 Cavaliers points in the fourth quarter.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
