The Nets were leading by six with just over five minutes to go in a game they desperately needed on Tuesday night, but a late Raptors run and a pair of defensive three-second violations on LaMarcus Aldridge turned a promising run into another deflating defeat.
Aldridge, starting in place of Andre Drummond (who was resting a sore knee and sat out of precaution in the second half of a back-to-back), was whistled for the same violation less than a minute apart, the first resulting in a 3-point swing that increased Toronto’s run to 10-0 with just over three minutes to go, and his second helped give the Raptors a three-point lead.
Aldridge said afterward that the second whistle on him should not have been a foul call.
“One was probably legit, the other wasn't legit,” the veteran said. “I was in a pick-and-roll, so I could be in the paint. As I recall, I haven’t watched it yet, but I think I was touching Thaddeus [Young] when he was in the lane. I think that's tough to call down the stretch, I think you should be certain if it's right or wrong and I don't think it was right. It is what it is.”
He wasn’t the only one who had a problem with the call, as assistant coach Jacque Vaughn (filling in as head coach while Steve Nash is in COVID-19 protocol) let the officials hear it after the call was made, and teammate James Johnson questioned the whistle after the game as well.
“That time in the game, we’re running a zone obviously,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotta watch the film. I don’t think so, honestly. L.A., he’s a smart vet. He watches a lot of film, he knows what’s been going on a lot. You know, I don’t see him making two of those.”
Aldridge acknowledged the first call as likely correct, but the second call, which he adamantly protested, played a big role in a 1-point loss for the team’s second straight defeat, and fourth in its last five games.
“Should’ve won. We had control,” Aldridge said. “Had a little bit of an offensive drought, had some turnovers and they made some tough shots. Some tough calls down the stretch and that’s the game.”
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