Get the checkbook ready.
Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie never said the refs stunk or the refs blew this or that in Boston’s down-to-the-very-last-second, 87-85 victory at Barclays Center. But he spoke about respect. And he claimed the Nets simply don’t get it — and especially didn’t get any Saturday.
“To see the same type of respect not reciprocated is very frustrating for us,” said Dinwiddie, insinuating the Celtics got the favored calls.
The game, which saw sub-40 percent shooting on both sides, essentially came down to two sequences. One saw rookie Jayson Tatum nail a dagger 3-pointer for Boston. The other contained Rondae Hollis-Jefferson missing two shots in close for the Nets.
“Tough loss. We had our chances,” said coach Kenny Atkinson, whose Nets have lost three games to the Celtics by a total of 12 points.
This one may have hurt most.
With Boston up 84-83, Kyrie Irving (21 points) missed a fast break runner. But he got his own rebound. Of course, to do so, he used Net DeMarre Carroll as a punching bag and a step ladder as he went over the back.
“Just the play warranted it,” Irving said of his mad dog approach on the play.
Atkinson’s view of the play?
“It was extremely physical. I’ll stay with that,” he said.
Irving then fed rookie Jayson Tatum in the corner for an open 3. Tatum (14 points) found only net. Irving passed as if the outcome were preordained.
“He’s supposed to. He better make it,” Irving said of Tatum whose dagger made it 87-83 with 45.7 seconds left. “Wide open in the corner, rookie or not, you better make the shot.”
The Nets answered with a put-back by Joe Harris (first career double-double, 10 points, career-best 12 rebounds) at 36.9 seconds and a stop. The Nets missed, rebounded and called time with 6.2 seconds left. They called a play for Hollis-Jefferson. Harris inbounded. Hollis-Jefferson missed from 10 feet. The rebounded was batted around, came to Hollis-Jefferson who shot from six feet and missed.
“I just kind of timed it wrong. That was on me. It wasn’t like a mistake or somebody hit me or something like that. I could have gathered myself more. I just looked at the time,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “It was short. It was just short.”
Carroll suffered what the Nets called a right knee injury on the play and was helped off. The Celtics had their sixth straight win while the Nets’ modest win streak ended at two. But their frustration reaching biblical levels with Dinwiddie serving as spokesman.
“As one of the leaders on the team, I can express our frustrations we’re losing guys to whatever — random contact, people are driving to the basket getting knocked down things of that nature,” Dinwiddie said.
“We want to treat everybody with respect because everybody is doing their job,” Dinwiddie added. “We turned the ball over, calls are missed whatever. But when you approach somebody and they ‘shush’ you or they wave you off like you’re not a man or something of that nature, that’s also very frustrating. To already be in a position of feeling like you’re not getting the same respect whether true or false, it is an opinion. It’s very subjective.”
So there.
Dinwiddie seemed to have a point. There was the Irving against Carroll play. There was Quincy Acy getting a technical after he was floored by Daniel Theis and then rammed his shoulder into Theis after he got up. And there was a ridiculously late whistle from referee Pat Fraher on Harris with 2:20 left that put Marcus Smart at the line where he was 1-of-2 for an 82-81 Celtics lead. Dinwiddie protested to no avail.
“When you can identify things that you’ve done to be better, then you have to sit in the film room and do that,” Dinwiddie said. “When some things are out of your hands, you feel a certain way about that as well.”