Lakers News: Bill Simmons Claims Referees Gifted LA Win Over Raptors

Simmons has never been shy about his opinions.

Your Los Angeles Lakers picked up their second straight victory on Tuesday night, taking down the Toronto Raptors by a score of 132-131. It was a tight game throughout, but L.A. was able to do just enough to secure the win.

However, no Lakers win comes easy. It was met with some controversy regarding the free throw disparity for the Lakers.

The Lakers shot 36 free throws in the game, with Anthony Davis alone taking 14 of them. The entire Raptors team only shot 13 total, leading to criticism of the officials. 

After the game, The Ringer's Bill Simmons, a noted Boston Celtics, took to social media to claim that the referees gave the Lakers the win. 

The Raptors have to suck it up - some times the 10, 12, 15 or 29 straight calls just aren’t gonna go your way.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 10, 2024

The free-throw disparity was large, but the Lakers have made a habit of being an aggressive team at the rim. There are games where they don't get any calls, and sometimes they get many of them.

This didn't stop Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic from calling out the referees as well. He was livid after the game and didn't hold back in his comments.

“It’s outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,” Rajakovic said. “This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well."

Per Greg Beacham of The Associated Press

Rajakovic didn't stop there and seemed to insinuate that the officials may have rigged the game for the Lakers. It was the kind of comments from a head coach that we don't typically see, so it was surprising when it happened.

“They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know, so we don’t show up for the game,” Rajakovic said. “Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight."

Per Greg Beacham of The Associated Press

The Lakers picked up the big win and now will look to keep the winning ways going. Next up, they host the Phoenix Suns before heading out on the road for one game.