Lakers' Luke Walton Won't 'Save' His Money, Rips Refs After Loss vs. Spurs

Unhappy with the way a 143-142 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs played out Monday night, Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton decided that calling out the officiating was worth a potential fine. 

Walton told reporters, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk: 

"Let me start here. ... I wasn't going to say anything. I was going to save my money, but I just can't anymore. It's [74] points in the paint [by the Lakers] to 50, [and yet] again they outshoot us from the free-throw line—38 free throws [to 26 by the Lakers]. Watch the play where I got a technical foul. Watch what happened to LeBron James' arm. It's the same thing that James Harden and Chris Paul [drew fouls on and] shot 30 free throws on us the night before. ... We are scoring 70 points a night. In the paint."

Overall, the foul totals were fairly even, with Los Angeles whistled 29 times and San Antonio 26 times. However, there was a much larger discrepancy when looking at free-throw attempts, as the Spurs held a 38-26 edge. That discrepancy really stands out when realizing, as Walton pointed out, the Lakers outscored the Spurs, 74-50, in the paint.

Walton would probably have just put the beef behind him if he felt it was an isolated incident. However, it marks the second straight game in which the opponent has shot 12 more free throws than the Lakers.

The Houston Rockets did so on Saturday night despite the foul totals being equal.

Walton felt the lack of calls for Josh Hart, who had 20 points (8-of-14 from the floor and zero free-throw attempts) and 10 rebounds in 39 minutes, in particular was extremely glaring on Monday:

"Watch how Josh Hart plays this game. He played 40 minutes tonight. All he does is attack the rim. Zero free throws tonight. Zero. So to me, it doesn't matter. I know they're young, I get that. But if we are going to play a certain way, let's not reward people for flopping 30 feet from the hole on plays that have nothing to do with that possession. They're just flopping just to see if they get a foul call. And then not reward players that are physically going to the basket and getting hit. It's not right."

It's not the first time this season Walton has questioned the way Hart has been officiated, either. Los Angeles and Houston were involved in a brawl during Saturday night's game, and the Lakers coach believes a lenient flagrant-1 foul call on Rockets forward James Ennis led to tempers flaring, per Spectrum SportsNet:

Ironically, the Lakers' latest loss comes partially as a result of misses from the line. With his team up one with 12.8 seconds to play in overtime, LeBron James had a chance to extend the lead to three with a pair of three throws. However, he missed both attempts, only for Spurs guard Patty Mills to hit the game-winning jumper on the ensuing possession.

The 2018-19 season is just three games young, so it's not time for Walton and Co. to panic just yet. However, he felt it was necessary to get the officials' attention early on, even if it means his bank account will take a hit.