Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse implied that the referees gave Celtics star Jayson Tatum some preferential treatment in Boston's Game 2 victory.
"The only frustrating part about it is this: He shoots 14 free throws, which is as much as our whole team shoots. That's the frustrating part," Nurse said postgame Tuesday, according to ESPN. "And I think our guys were working hard on him and we were doing a pretty good job. He did make some good shots.
"They were obviously getting him the ball a lot, getting him in space. We could have helped a little bit better here and there. But they (took) very good care of him tonight."
Tatum shot 14-of-14 from the free-throw line Tuesday and finished with a game-high 34 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal in 42 minutes. The Raptors attempted 19 free throws as a team, making 16 of them. No player on Toronto's roster had more than Kyle Lowry's eight free-throw attempts.
Nurse didn't specify a foul on Tatum that he took issue with. When asked specifically if he had a problem with the officiating, he didn't elaborate.
"No. You know I can't comment on that," he said, according to USA Today's Mark Medina.
The 14 free-throw attempts are a career high for Tatum in the playoffs. He matched or surpassed that count twice in the regular season: He made 14 trips to the line in a Feb. 29 loss to the Houston Rockets, six days after a career-high 15 attempts in a defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
