George said he should have gone to the line more than the five times that the crew of Josh Tiven, Natalie Sago and Matt Boland called during the game. George was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with the referees that he was fouled on a breakaway dunk attempt he missed late in the second quarter.
“I thought we played great,” George said. “It’s tough, the adversity of playing against the extra three [officials]. I thought they were awful. But, [against the] defending champs, we got to play better. There’s a lot to be positive about. I’m not one for moral victories, but I thought we showed more of a sign of a team tonight that’s close to getting it over the hump.”
It was bad," George said when asked about how the game finished. "Five free throws is very disrespectful on this night. So many times I got hit on layups, 3-pointers, it was constant.
“Jump shots, getting hit, smacked on the forearm. I mean, it was poor, a poor job. But, again, we got to be able to beat these guys on their floor and not rely on that. Again, they [are] calling something on one end, they got to call it on the other.”
I don’t have a problem with the touch foul being called. It was a sly move by MPJ and he happened to get busted for it. But getting mauled on the other end makes it frustrating.
I’m always impressed with how well the Nuggets pull out wins in games like this. They never get rocked mentally by what the refs do. Instead, it seems to increase their focus and drive.