Doc Rivers' ejection leads to angry postgame comments toward refs

Jordan Heck

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Doc Rivers' ejection leads to angry postgame comments toward refs image

Clippers coach Doc Rivers had to be restrained by his players and staff Tuesday night after he became livid when he was called for a technical foul.

Rivers was arguing a foul call with official Lauren Holtkamp when another official, Ken Mauer, issued the tech on the L.A. coach. That's when the rage set in, and Rivers was ejected from the game in the first overtime period.

When asked during his postgame chat with the media, Rivers explained what got him so riled up.

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"I thought it was an awful tech," Rivers said candidly. "The official who had nothing to do with the play thought I was yelling at Lauren, and I wasn't. Actually, she said, 'Doc, you're right,' or whatever, 'Let's walk back.' We were walking. We weren't even arguing. So it was the damnedest tech to give at that time.

"What the league is going to do, they're going to fall back on, 'He crossed half court.' You'll see tomorrow, that's what they're going to say. And we're going to all know that's not the real reason. I don't think an official that has nothing to do with the play should be giving someone a tech. That's my thing. That's why I got upset. He didn't even know what we were talking about. It wasn't even an argument. But listen, that had nothing to do with the game, and that's not why we lost the game."

Rivers was correct with his guess that the league will use the "he crossed half court" excuse, as that's what Mauer said after the game.

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Also, Rivers claimed the half court excuse was "not the real reason" for the tech. He's likely referring to the history between Holtkamp and the Clippers, which was a big ordeal in 2015 when Chris Paul said officiating "might not be for her." He was fined $25,000 by the NBA for those comments.

There's a chance Rivers gets hit with a $25,000 fine himself for these comments.

Jordan Heck

Jordan Heck Photo

Jordan Heck is a Social Media Producer at Sporting News. Before working here, he was a Digital Content Producer at The Indianapolis Star. He graduated with a degree from Indiana University.