The Cavaliers shot 30-of-34 from the free-throw line in Game 4, while the Pistons only took 9-of-12 as a team in the Monday loss.
J.B. Bickerstaff has called out the officiating of the referees in the aftermath of the Detroit Pistons' Game 4 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell
MIN: 33.77
PTS: 27.73 (56.64%)
REB: 4.63
AS: 5.31
ST: 1.4
BL: 0.27
TO: 2.79
GM: 81
Speaking to the media right after their 112-103 loss in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Pistons coach offered grievances about the free-throw discrepancy in the game.
"It's unacceptable," he told reporters. "We didn't do enough, obviously, to help ourselves, and I'll start there. But ever since we came to Cleveland, the whistle has changed. There's no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team.
"We're not a sell team, we're not a jump shooting team. We drive the ball, attack the paint. So what was done out there tonight, it's frustrating. But we can't allow that to be the reason why, because we didn't play well enough and play to the best of our capabilities."
Donovan Mitchell, who dropped a historic 43-point performance, even outshot Detroit from the foul line. The Cavs superstar sank 13 of his 15 free throws across the game.
So far this series, Cleveland holds a minimal advantage over Detroit in free-throw counts. The Cavaliers are averaging 26.3 attempts per game, while the Pistons have 22.3 across four games so far in the East Semifinals.
The Pistons have tallied a 42-of-55 shooting from the free-throw line in the first two games at home, while the Cavs settled for 37-of-43.
"You look at the foul count, you look at the disparity, and that's hard to overcome, and you wonder the reason why," Bickerstaff added. "It's interesting, since Kenny [Atkinson] made his comments publicly about us, the whistle's changed in this series."
The Pistons and the Cavaliers will head back to Detroit for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday, as the series is officially tied at 2-2.
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