The Brooklyn Nets fell 107-102 to the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday in a key matchup as they battle to clinch the Eastern Conference's sixth seed.
Spencer Dinwiddie had one of his best games since rejoining the Nets, scoring a game-high 30 points on 13-of-24 shooting with six assists. However, the floor general's brilliant performance will be headlined by a game-deciding non-call on Brooklyn's final possession. With the Nets trailing by three with 10 seconds remaining, Dinwiddie elevated for a three-pointer and was hit on the elbow by Anthony Edwards before having his shot blocked:
No call was made. Dinwiddie would miss another three following the play, sealing the Brooklyn defeat. By his reaction on the floor, the Nets veteran clearly felt he was fouled in the moment. And he was just as emphatic about that opinion postgame after watching the replay:
“Why would it change my opinion? He hit me on the elbow,” he replied when asked if his viewpoint changed. “I mean, you saw it.”
Dinwiddie went on to say the non-call was “ironic” and “f***ing hilarious” given he recently said two of the referees, Kevin Cutler and Zach Zarba, were his favorite in the league during an anonymous poll:
“The funny thing is I just did an interview and I said my two favorite refs were KC and Zarba,” he said. “That’s ironic, isn’t it? That’s f***ing hilarious. Nah, I’m just saying. It’s the story of what I kinda have talked about… They’re two good dudes. But they definitely missed one, well several, actually. It’s a fact. We all saw the replays.”
“It’s not so anonymous anymore. Like I said, I don’t change it. They’re two good dudes. If I see them in the airport, it’s always love. KC’s from LA. But damn! They blew some. Jesus Christ. And it sucks cause we’re fighting for a six seed. Nothing you can do but laugh about it now.”
Dinwiddie is no stranger to run-ins with referees during his nine NBA seasons. Following a Feb. 16 loss at Atlanta, he said superstars receive preferential treatment from referees, something he claimed hurts himself and the Nets late in games. Dinwiddie's rocky relationship with the league’s refs made headlines early this season when Tony Brothers referred to him as a “b***h-a*s mother f****er” to one of his Mavericks teammates after slapping him with a technical. The NBA suspended Brothers for one game following the incident.
Mikal Bridges struggled to find his rhythm in the loss, shooting 9-of-24 on his way to 24 points. And the breakout forward shared Dinwiddie's sentiment about the game's officiating:
“I felt like it was a tough day for us offensively with the whistle,” Bridges said. “There were a couple of calls, more than a couple, where it was just kinda goofy and surprising that they didn't call it.”
All four Timberwolves starters scored 12 or more points on the night. Anthony Edwards led the way with 23 on 7-of-18 shooting while Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 22 on 8-of-15 from the field.
With the loss and a Heat win in Detroit, the Nets' lead on Miami for the sixth seed is down to one game (plus the tiebreaker). Dinwiddie and Co. won't have much time to dwell on the officiating as they'll be back in action tomorrow night in Detroit before closing the schedule with home matchups against Orlando and Philadelphia.
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