The NBA is not going to be happy with Donovan Mitchell, who said the refs “screwed” the Jazz in an overtime loss to the 76ers.
Donovan Mitchell was not having it on Wednesday night.
The Utah Jazz guard put up 33 points, got ejected, and then went off on the referees in his press conference following a 131-123 loss to Philadelphia.
What got Mitchell so worked up? There were a few questionable calls in the game.
Refs during the Jazz-76ers game caught heat from Donovan Mitchell
Among the biggest was one that led to Joel Embiid’s game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Jazz led by three with 30 seconds to play, and Royce O’Neale appeared to have saved the ball from going out of bounds. Based on the replay review, the ball should have been given to Utah, but the refs determined it first hit an out-of-bounds official and awarded possession to the 76ers.
Possession allowed the 76ers to cut into the lead and set up the critical shot from Embiid. If Utah had kept possession they could have made it a two-score game instead.
Other calls had people scratching their heads. This was called an offensive foul.
Later in overtime, Mitchell was bounced when Embiid lobbied for him to get a technical.
Embiid was begging for Spida to get a tech and then he got ejected 😅 pic.twitter.com/4pkoKwuLWQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 4, 2021
Mitchell was furious on his way off the court, and he didn’t cool off before talking to the media. A fine is coming to him for sure. If there’s one the NBA doesn’t want players to do, it’s publicly call out the officials.
Sometimes the refs deserve it. Sometimes a fine is worth all the trouble. Mitchell has to hope it gets better or do a better job reacting to calls that frustrate him.
On the night, Mitchell put up 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. Utah fell to 27-9 but still lead the NBA.