By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following Wednesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis replied to a question regarding the referees separating normal and flagrant fouls pointing out inconsistency not favoring his Indiana Pacers.
“I think it makes no sense,” he noted, “I got hit in maybe three games, in the jaw, and in the face, it was called a normal foul. When I did the same play, a spin move, and hit him in the face, exact same move, I got flagrant. I don’t know what they are seeing and calling. We just want consistency.”
Sabonis, 24, logged a triple-double consisting of 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in the loss. His side failed to hold on in the fourth quarter. He recognized a concerning trend of fourth-quarter letdowns in recent games.
“We are not getting the stops we need to,” he said and focused on the game versus the Nets, “James Harden was just doing his thing. We try all kinds of defenses at him. He was just taking us apart. When we did get a stop, we didn’t get the rebound. That really hurts.”
The Lithuanian big was hot in the first quarter helping his side jump to an early 15-point lead. His was slowed down as James Harden took over landing a triple-double of his own with 40 points, 15 assists, and ten rebounds.
“It was nothing different,” mentioned Sabonis describing his effort after the first period, “I was just not put in the situation to shoot. I was trying to find my teammates, trying to make the correct read.”
The Pacers currently rank tenth in the Eastern Conference on a 17-22 record. Dropping eight of the last ten matches certainly does not build playoffs momentum moving into the bottom stretch of the 2020-21 NBA Regular Season.
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