DeMar DeRozan blasting refs had nothing to do with Bulls’ loss to Bucks

The Chicago Bulls were rolled on Tuesday night in Milwaukee in a game that got away early. The score was tied at the six-minute mark of the first quarter, and then ballooned into a 20-point game in the Bucks’ favor four minutes later.

The Bucks dominated the game in the paint and from 3-point range in addition to controlling the tempo by holding the Bulls to zero fast break points. The Bulls tried to come back, cutting the deficit to 10 in the third, but their efforts were continually answered by Bucks runs.

While the Bucks out-played the Bulls statistically by winning each main category, DeMar DeRozan feels that the lack of free throws awarded to his team played a big part in that.

"“That was my whole frustration,” DeRozan told the media. “Without a doubt, I got hit a few times on a couple jump shots, and it’s the same old thing the whole game over: ‘I missed it. I missed it.’ From my opinion, we get paid to play at a high level, refs get paid to ref at a high level. … It’s just unacceptable.”"

DeMar DeRozan wasn’t happy with the refs in the Bulls’ loss to the Bucks

The Bulls shot 13 free throws to the Bucks’ 20. DeRozan, despite ranking fifth in foul drawing in the entire NBA, didn’t get a single attempt. He did, however, earn a technical foul for shouting at one of the officials following what he perceived as a missed foul call.

Head coach Billy Donovan echoed DeRozan’s sentiments.

"“The thing that was amazing to me was that there were only two defensive fouls called against them in 24 minutes. I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never seen that before ever. I feel like we were trying to go downhill, I feel like we were trying to get to the basket. The free-throw discrepancy, certainly in the first half created a little bit of a whole for us.”"

DeRozan’s frustration bled onto the court, his play declining the more contact he received without a whistle. The team as a whole looked frustrated as well, with Tristan Thompson getting into a skirmish at the end of the game with Serge Ibaka.

Free throws weren’t the sole issue in the Bulls play, though. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points while Jrue Holiday scored 27 points. Milwaukee shot 61% from the floor and had seven players score in double figures. The seven additional free throws the Bucks attempted didn’t cause that damage — the Bulls’ lackluster defense did.

Bulls guard Alex Caruso noted that the refs called the game like a playoff contest. Donovan noted that physicality played a part in the free throw disparity, among a variety of things.

"“There was some plays where we had an opportunity to get to the free-throw line that we didn’t, but that’s part of the game,” Donovan said. “Those things are going to happen. There was other things we needed to do. Some of that could have been physicality, some of that could have been better communication. … It could have been a variety of things.”"

The Bulls’ next matchup is in New Orleans on Thursday night against the Pelicans. New Orleans is fighting for seeding in the Western Conference play-in tournament and will come out with playoff level intensity.

For Chicago, the players will have to shake off this bummer of an outcome and find their footing in the final 10 games if they want to avoid a very unsavory playoff matchup.