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Whiteside labels Valanciunas award-winning actor: 'They like to flop'

Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The margin for error over the final week of the Miami Heat's season is slim to none, as the team battles for one of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spots, so having Hassan Whiteside limited by foul trouble Friday night in Toronto was a potentially crushing blow.

Whiteside, who averages nearly 33 minutes per game, logged only 27 minutes of action in Miami's 96-94 loss to the Raptors, as the Heat fell a full game behind eighth-place Indiana with only three contests remaining.

Whiteside finished the contest with five fouls after his night was derailed by two fouls on Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas in the game's first 3:18, and he let his frustrations with the Lithuanian big man be known after the loss.

"My hat goes off to JV. That guy’s a Grammy Award winning actor," Whiteside said (seemingly confusing the Grammys with the Oscars), as reported by the Palm Beach Post's Tom D'Angelo. "It’s amazing he just throws his head back and it’s a foul. We know they like to flop, the antics they do, we know that."

Whiteside got to know Valanciunas and Co. well last spring, when the two throwback bigs dominated the second-round playoff series between Toronto and Miami before both were lost to injury. The Raptors went on to win the series in seven games.

Valanciunas drew two of Whiteside's five fouls Friday, with Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson, and DeMar DeRozan drawing the other three personals. While JV may have played an award-winning role in selling the two early calls, many were left shaking their heads at Whiteside on the second foul, as the Heat's star center was unnecessarily playing up on the non-shooting Valanciunas on the perimeter when the whistle was blown.

Whiteside finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting in the loss, while Valanciunas chipped in with nine points, 10 boards, and two blocks on 4-of-9 shooting in the win for Toronto.

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