CP3's late tech on 'overt clap' costly for Clippers
LOS ANGELES — A costly technical foul assessed to Chris Paul in the Clippers‘ 108-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night conjured up the point guard’s history with referee Lauren Holtkamp.
Trailing by two points with 20 seconds remaining in regulation, Paul and Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick attempted to trap Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio against the sideline.
Though the pair of Clippers defenders stifled Rubio, Holtkamp whistled Redick for a bump. Paul instantly clapped his hands in Holtkamp’s direction. Just as Paul turned away, Holtkamp called the technical.
Asked if the Clippers were provided with an explanation from officials, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, “Overt clap. That was the explanation. Overt clap.”
Paul ran afoul of Holtkamp on Feb. 5, 2015, in a Clippers loss at Cleveland. Holtkamp hit Paul with a technical foul following an exchange on an inbound pass. After the game, Paul protested the call.
“I don’t care what nobody says, I don’t care what she says; that’s terrible,” Paul said after the incident last year. “There’s no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, ‘Uh-uh.’ I said, ‘Why, uh-uh?’ And she gave me a tech. That’s ridiculous. If that’s the case, this might not be for her.”
The NBA fined Paul $25,000 for the comments.
Paul was considerably less vocal after Wednesday’s loss at Staples Center.
“She didn’t give me no explanation,” Paul said, adding that he was surprised by the call.
Told he and Holtkamp shared a history, Paul interjected, “Do we?”
Paul scored 22 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. He added eight assists and four rebounds.
“It’s crazy,” Paul said. “I guess it was for what I said.” Asked specifically what he said, Paul replied, “Nothing. I said nothing.”
Paul recognized that the untimeliness of the technical foul in a one-possession game and said he apologized to the team.
“You cannot get techs in the fourth quarter,” Paul said. “That was a big call. [Rubio] missed one free throw. That would’ve put us down three instead of down four. Regardless of the situation, I have to do a better job of not putting it in the hands of them to make a call like that. So that’s on me.”
Paul neither affirmed nor dispelled the notion that his previous run-in with Holtkamp informed the fourth quarter call.
“The [NBA has] got my money already,” Paul said. “I got kids in private school.”
The Timberwolves iced the game on the ensuing possession with a layup from big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
Paul wasn’t the only Clippers player to get reprimanded by officials Wednesday. Guard Austin Rivers picked up consecutive technical fouls in the second quarter after snapping at official Derrick Collins in protest of a non-call on a layup. After some additional carping, Rivers was promptly ejected by official Scott Foster.
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