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NBA referees have come under a ton of scrutiny this season. Many fans have asserted that refs have been doing too much to try and leave their imprints on games.
This seemed to be the case during Tuesday night’s matchup between the LA Clippers and OKC Thunder as an official called three technical fouls on a single play.
The first tech went to Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard for complaining to a ref. This came after no call was made on his driving layup with 4:27 remaining in the second quarter.
Clippers guard Terance Mann then immediately picked up two quick techs for arguing with the same official. As a result, Mann was automatically ejected from the game.
Naturally, NBA fans had some strong reactions to the questionable officiating on Twitter, with many calling for the ref to be investigated and possibly fired. One fan simply wrote:
"Fire the ref"
Here are some of the top fan reactions to the moment:
Kawhi Leonard and LA Clippers come up short against OKC Thunder
Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers ended up falling 101-100 to the OKC Thunder on Tuesday. Leonard couldn’t get a game-winning shot attempt off before the buzzer sounded.
OKC was led by star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 48.0% shooting. Meanwhile, Leonard led LA with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals on 43.8% shooting.
On top of the close loss, the Clippers sustained an even worse blow late in the fourth quarter. Star wing Paul George suffered an apparent right leg injury after bumping knees with Thunder shooting guard Luguentz Dort. George had to be helped off the court with 4:38 remaining in the game.
It remains to be seen how serious George’s injury is. However, if "PG13" has to miss extended time, it could serve as a fatal blow to the Clippers’ chances of contending.
Following the defeat, LA (38-35) is currently just fifth in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. OKC (36-36), meanwhile, is now seventh in the West with 10 games remaining.
