Steve Kerr sounds off on officiating; AD’s 40-point eruption in Lakers loss — NBA Wrap

Golden State coach Steve Kerr has sounded off on the state of officiating in the NBA after Nikola Jokic shot 18 free throws in Denver’s 120-114 win on Tuesday, describing it as “disgusting to watch”.

Kerr was asked post-game what he thought about the way the game was officiated in the second half and his frustration clearly extended beyond what he saw against the Nuggets.

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“I have no problems with officials themselves,” Kerr said.

“All across the league we have really good officials. I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game. That’s what we’re doing in the NBA.

“The way we’re teaching officials, we’re just enabling players to BS their way to the foul line. If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game.

“It was disgusting. It was just baiting refs into calls, but the refs have to make these calls because that’s how they’re taught.

“I have a real problem with the way we have legislated defense out of the game in this league.

“And the players are really smart in this league. Over the last decade or so, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter, and we have enabled the players, and they are taking full advantage. It’s a parade to the free throw line, and it’s disgusting to watch.”

Jokic overcame a poor shooting day by going 18-for-18 at the free-throw line while Jamal Murray had 28 points as the reigning champion Nuggets took their winning streak to five games.

Despite connecting on just four of 12 shots from the field Jokic finished with 26 points, adding 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Nuggets come out on top in a seesaw battle between the winners of the last two NBA titles.

Jokic’s left-handed basket with 5:16 to play put the Nuggets up for good and he added an exclamation point with a dunk that pushed the lead to 118-112 with 34.2 seconds left.

The Warriors came into the contest riding a five-game winning streak.

But superstar Stephen Curry endured a frustrating afternoon, scoring just four points in the first half on the way to a total of 18 on seven-of-21 shooting.

He was three-for-13 from three-point range and handed out four assists. Canada’s Andrew Wiggins helped keep the Warriors in it, scoring a team-high 22 points off the bench. But Murray and Jokic, who led the Nuggets to a franchise first title last season, proved too much down the stretch.

CELTICS MAKE STATEMENT DESPIT AD’S 40-POINT EXPLOSION

The Boston Celtics used a hot start and a strong finish to put away the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115 in a Christmas clash of storied NBA franchises.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 25 points for the Celtics, who withstood a 40-point effort from Lakers star Anthony Davis.

Lakers star LeBron James, coming off a 40-point performance in a win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City, scored just 16 points on five-of-14 shooting.

James added nine rebounds and eight assists, but a slightly “lethargic” start — which Lakers coach Darvin Ham said could have been due to holiday distractions or an unusually early afternoon start — proved too much to overcome.

The Celtics roared out of the gate to a 12-0 lead and led by as many as 18 before the Lakers began to chip away.

Davis scored 20 first-half points, driving for a basket that cut the deficit to 58-57 in the waning seconds of the first half.

Both teams got a scare late in the second period, when James and Jaylen Brown collided and both went down, James holding his left knee and Brown his back.

James would go briefly to the bench before returning while Brown went to the locker room and was diagnosed with a lower back contusion. He eventually returned to finish with 19 points.

Tatum said the thing he liked best about the victory was how Boston responded after the Lakers closed the gap then took a two-point lead early in the third on Jarred Vanderbilt’s dunk.

Boston answered with seven straight points and the Lakers wouldn’t get in front again as the Celtics improved to a league-best 23-6.

“And it’s a big win, right? It’s Christmas day and it’s tough to win on the road,” Tatum said. “So just the way we responded and executed late in the game.”

YOUNG ROOKIE SHINES FOR HEAT AS MAXEY SLUMPS FOR SIXERS

A quiet night from Tyrese Maxey and big game for rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. saw the Miami Heat outlast the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 without superstar Jimmy Butler.

It was always going to be a challenging night for the Sixers without reigning MVP Joel Embiid (ankle), although the expectation was that Most Improved Player candidate Maxey would thrive with the added responsibility.

Instead, Maxey had a poor shooting night as he failed to score a single point in the first half, going 0-for-7 from the field while only adding two assists and one rebound.

Tyler Herro, meanwhile, had 16 points after going 3-for-4 from deep as the Heat took a 63-49 lead into halftime.

It wasn’t just Maxey though. The Sixers went over eight minutes without making a field goal and the Heat took full advantage early in the second quarter, going on a 22-1 run to take a 34-22 lead.

Philadelphia was able to claw its way back into the game despite falling further behind early in the third, outscoring Miami 37-23 in the period to tie the contest at 86-86 heading into the fourth.

The Heat had led by as much as 70-49 early in the third and were at risk of imploding after such a promising start to the game but held their nerve to close out the win in the fourth.

Jaquez Jr. made big plays on both ends of the floor, scoring 10 points to go with four rebounds in the final period to continue what has been an impressive rookie campaign.

Jaquez Jr. led Miami with 31 points, 10 rebounds and two steals while Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Duncan Robinson, meanwhile, added a handy five 3-pointers off the bench while Kevin Love had eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Maxey finished with 12 points after shooting 4-for-20 from the field, with Tobias Harris (27 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (25 points) the top scorers for Philadelphia.

KNICKS SURPRISE BUCKS TO SNAP MILWAUKEE’S WINNING RUN

Earlier, Jalen Brunson scored 38 points as the New York Knicks finally got the better of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, halting the Bucks seven-game NBA win streak with a 129-122 victory at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks had lost their previous nine games against Milwaukee, including a 130-111 defeat on Sunday.

That followed a pair of comfortable Bucks wins earlier this season, but Brunson’s effort, along with a solid defensive showing, saw the Knicks come out on top in the first game of the NBA’s Christmas Day slate.

“I’m just happy the way we played today, we kept fighting,” Brunson said after the Bucks cut a 14-point deficit to four midway through the third quarter before the Knicks pulled away again.

“They made a run but we stayed poised,” Brunson said.

“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit, they’re a hell of a team so I’m just happy we got away with a win.”

Julius Randle scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a disappointing showing on Saturday to score 21 points and Immanuel Quickley added 20 off the bench for the Knicks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points apiece for Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds but the Bucks never led after the first quarter.

“I thought they out-competed us today for the most part,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.

“Offensively we got some good looks but we just couldn’t knock ‘em down. And when you’re on the road and you get clean looks you’ve got to knock them down.

“I think we missed quite a few at the rim,” he added.

“I think it took some of the air out of us.”