Cavs' J.B. Bickerstaff Criticizes Refs vs. Magic; Fine Coming?
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic pulled out a tight 116-109 win on Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, leaving coach J.B. Bickerstaff in a bad mood after the game.
Bickerstaff credited the Magic for "fouling" the Cavs, which the coach said led to many of their forced turnovers.
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"I thought [Orlando] did a good job of fouling us," Bickerstaff said. "Being physical, slapping, reaching, grabbing, holding. That helped them create some of those turnovers."
In particular, Bickerstaff gave a backhanded compliment to Moe Wagner, who led the game with 22 points off the bench.
“He’s an effective player and he impacts winning,” said Bickerstaff. “There was a lot of offensive fouls when [Wagner] had the ball in his hand. I don’t know how our guys are supposed to defend when he’s allowed to launch himself.”
This isn't the first time Bickerstaff has criticized officials publicly. In 2022, he was fined on two separate occasions, the first for $20,000 in March and the second for $15,000 in April.
Perhaps the league will ask him to empty his pockets once again after his latest comments.
The Magic will look to move on from their game against the Cavs tonight when they visit the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
