Expelled for the first time in his young career against the Nuggets, was Scottie Barnes wrongly punished by referee Scott Foster? A little throwback to one of the weird episodes from last night.
There are about thirty seconds left between Denver and Toronto, the Nuggets have a one-point lead on the scoreboard. Jamal Murray manages to find Aaron Gordon near the circle and the winger goes for two throws against Jakob Poeltl. Until then nothing very magical in this action but, a few moments later, the referee Scott Foster gets carried away and points the exit at Scottie Barnes! So what happened on the floor of the Ball Arena?
Scottie Barnes was ejected for the first time in his career on this play in the final seconds of the game. pic.twitter.com/ebyhWL9Twt
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 7, 2023
At first glance, it’s hard to really understand the famous referee’s fury, because the player’s reaction is nothing short of explosive. There is a gesture of spite after the call but like all Raptors in general. The funny thing is that even the other referees present don’t seem to have noticed anything, it’s a decision made by Foster and him alone. Questioned after the match, the good friend of Chris Paul (no) explained that it was certain words spoken by Barnes which had led to his expulsion, the latter having questioned the integrity of the referees.
Scott Foster on the Scottie Barnes ejection: “He was ejected on one technical foul because he used verbiage that which directly questioned the integrity of the crew.”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 7, 2023
Did Scottie mumble a few words in scred against the refereeing corps? The Raptor had another version to offer.
“I was talking to myself and I think he got offended and kicked me out.”
So, rather the word of the referee or that of the player? Difficult to decide but this decision was in any case particularly badly experienced by the Raptors, since it had a huge impact on the outcome of a very undecided match (Denver was able to take a 4-point lead with 30 seconds remaining thanks to the throw bonuses). Nick Nurse obviously criticized the refereeing at a press conference, explaining that there was nothing and that it had screwed up the end of the meeting.
“There was absolutely nothing there.”
Nick Nurse chats about the call on Scottie Barnes. pic.twitter.com/WvG7n1kwzJ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 7, 2023
Fred VanVleet followed suit in the face of questions from journalists. Comments reported by Eric Koreeen of The Athletic.
“The game went into a spin. It’s a shame to see a great match wasted”
It will now be interesting to see if the NBA agrees with Toronto or Scott Foster, even if we know that this will not change the result of the match. We are not in danger of losing our temper anytime soon on the Ontario side.
Source texte : The Athletic / TSN Sports