The NBA hoped the story of Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals would be the on-court battle between the Warriors and Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, a different kind of show broke out than the one Steph Curry put on during the first quarter at Oracle Arena.
A ref show.
The zebras struggled mightily during the first half, hitting a number of players on both sides with some questionable calls.
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First, there was a missed goaltending call when Serge Ibaka clearly blocked DeMarcus Cousins' layup attempt after it hit the backboard.
Oof.
The poor whistles continued throughout the first half.
There was this charge call on Kawhi Leonard, which the NBA Referees account admitted should have been a block.
Then, Quinn Cook was called for an offensive foul for this.
But don't worry, the refs made up for it with this iffy charge call on Leonard.
Needless to say, the viewing public wasn't thrilled with the ref show.
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Hopefully, the whistles calm down in the second half.