‘Ask Rodney’: Kings’ Buddy Hield calls NBA official out by name after loss to Lakers
Kings guard Buddy Hield mentioned NBA referee Rodney Mott by name while criticizing the officiating in his team’s 99-97 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Staples Center.
Lakers star LeBron James made two free throws to give his team the lead with 5.5 seconds remaining after Kings forward Harrison Barnes was whistled for a foul. The Kings had a chance to tie or win the game in the final seconds, but Anthony Davis blocked a driving layup attempt by Barnes as time ran out.
According to the NBA’s last two-minute report, that call was incorrect. The league said Saturday James initiated contact with an elbow to Barnes’ chin on the perimeter as he began his drive.
“One call changed the whole game and it could have gone either way,” Hield said. “It be like that sometimes. When the home team is favored all the time, especially in L.A. … The game came down to one play. Sometimes in that situation you have to let the game play out. I don’t think it was a foul the other way, so ask Rodney what he thinks.”
The Lakers went to the free-throw line 22 times and made 20. The Kings only attempted nine free throws. Hield was asked what the Kings need to do to get to the free-throw line more.
“Refs don’t call no fouls for us,” Hield said. “What do you want us to do?”
Barnes offered a diplomatic response when asked about the call by Mott that sent James to the line to hit the go-ahead free throws.
“Contact was made,” Barnes said. “Who initiated that, that’s for replays to decide. They chose to call that a foul on me and that’s something you have to live with.”
Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic agreed.
“It’s always the referee’s decision to call or not call,” Bogdanovic said. “Sometimes you get calls, sometimes not. I guess it’s homecourt advantage maybe, but sometimes it goes like that.”
Kings coach Luke Walton described what he saw on the game’s final sequence.
“We ran our play. We had a chance. We didn’t make it,” Walton said. “All we try to focus on as a team is what we can control, and what we can control is execution, knocking down open shots, making the extra pass. Harrison lost his balance. We had Buddy open in the corner, which is kind of what we were looking to get, but Harrison has the option of taking it to the rim. He got tripped up and decided to try to lay it up, which we’re all good with. Unfortunately, (Davis) made a great defensive play.”
The Kings shot 43.9 percent from the field, made 16 of 39 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Lakers 43-41 while holding Los Angeles to 42-percent shooting from the field and 11-of-37 shooting from beyond the arc. It was a gutsy effort from the Kings, who had won four of their last five games and played one of the NBA’s top teams without De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and Trevor Ariza, but it wasn’t enough.
“It was a game we should have won,” Hield said. “It just got stole away from us.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 1:49 AM.
