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Clippers' Paul George Fined $35,000 for Public Criticism of Refs After Mavs Game
March 19, 2021
Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George has been fined $35,000 after he aired his frustration with officiating following the team's 105-89 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
George spoke with officials following a series of what he felt were non-calls, and he told reporters Wednesday that the conversations were "just a bunch of lies."
"They know what's going on," he said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
The Clippers only went to the line 11 times in the loss, and George said he wants the team to send film into the league for review in an effort to solve a problem he says is "nothing new to me."
Per Youngmisuk, the seven-time All-Star has shared his disappointment about a lack of calls throughout this season, and he said he has experienced this throughout his 11 seasons in the league. His career-high for free throw attempts per game is 7.0, set in the 2018-19 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but that has dipped in his two seasons with the Clippers to 4.05 in 2019-20 and 4.0 through 31 games this season.
Via statistics from Second Spectrum, the Clippers draw a foul on an average of 6.6 shots per game, ranking fourth-fewest in the league behind Portland, Denver and Phoenix (h/t Youngmisuk).
"We play physical, no different than any other player in this league, you know?" George said. "There's nothing more that we can do. We're attacking, we're putting pressure at the rim, again. There's nothing that I feel—unless we just start diving and playing a flopping game—there's really nothing much that we can do."
The Clippers are back in action Saturday at 10 p.m. ET against the Charlotte Hornets.