Ty Jerome blasts officials after Trail Blazers game: ‘I thought the refs were really bad tonight’
Sunday’s game featured 70 combined free throws.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers featured 70 combined free throws. That’s more than anyone watching the game would like to see. According to Cavs guard Ty Jerome, that was the result of poor officiating.
“I thought the refs were really bad tonight, especially Natalie [Sago], she was really bad,” Jerome said when asked about the number of free throws. “Stuff like that happens. They kind of lose control of the game, and you just got to keep your head. I thought that first half was ridiculous. Third quarter was horrendous. You just got to keep your head and keep playing.”
I asked #Cavs forward Ty Jerome about the challenges of finding a flow in a game where there are 70 combined free throws pic.twitter.com/pgwcdoPoSY
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) March 3, 2025
Other members of the organization weren’t willing to go as far as Jerome did, but the general sentiment seemed to be that they didn’t appreciate the way the game was called.
“I’ll just leave that alone,” said head coach Kenny Atkinson when asked the same question postgame.
“The game was so choppy. I don’t know. I’ll have to go back and look at the film. We have great referees in this league. I just thought it wasn’t a great spectacle for the fans or for the media, [or] for us as coaches. It would just seem like it was constant stoppage. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Max Strus echoed a similar sentiment.
“No, I don’t recall ever being a part of something like that,” Strus said about Sunday’s game with 70 combined free-throw attempts. “I’m just gonna stop there.”
While there were a lot of free throws, it’s worth pointing out that it was divided evenly with 35 attempted by each team.
The game wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing. The hometown fans grew restless in the third quarter by the parade of free throw attempts, but that frustration was likely amplified by the fact the Cavs were losing by as many as 18 before coming back to win in overtime.
Not every basketball game can be pretty. Also, not every game can be perfectly officiated. It’s fair to say that Sunday’s game had neither of those qualities.