Three flopping technicals in the final six minutes: the officiating in the Portland Trail Blazers' 136-129 win over the Los Angeles Lakers sparked widespread frustration. Ja Morant plans to appeal the technical he received while defending Austin Reaves, although Portland still came away with the win in a game that featured 71 free throws. Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori pointed out that only 27 flops had been called in 2,000 games last season. "Good job by the NBA," Nori said, dripping with sarcasm. "Point of emphasis. Great job. There were [71] free throws. We almost got past 2 a.m. on the East Coast for the [end of the] game. Sorry to keep you all here so long."
"I just showed my hands and took a bump in my chest... It ain't like I fell. I just kept going backwards. It is what it is. I'll try to appeal it. I think it's like a $2,000 [fine]," explained Morant, who finished with 23 points. "There's a lot of plays in an NBA game where you see guys embellish a play... I think it should be significant, like a bad flop, for them to call it when the game is being decided," added Damian Lillard, who scored 21 points.
