Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was ejected from the game against the Memphis Grizzlies after becoming irate at a referee over a controversial non-call.
Rajakovic, who is currently in his second season with the Raptors, lost his cool during the fourth quarter of their 155-126 loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday night, even requiring two of his own players to intervene.
The officials elected not to call a foul on a drive by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, but Memphis was eventually able to score on the other end.
And the non-call led to an astonishing meltdown from Rajakovic, who immediately headed for one of the referees after calling a timeout.
“Name the damn mistake! Name the damn mistake!’ He was heard shouting as Barnes and Ochai Agbaji restrained him.
After being escorted away from the referee, Rajakovic was assessed a pair of technical fouls and automatically ejected from the match with the Raptors trailing 125-103.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was ejected Thursday for losing his cool in front of a referee
“We hold each other to a higher standard and obviously we didn’t live up to that,” Raptors assistant Pat Delany said after the game, via Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton.
‘I can’t speak for it [Rajakovic] in terms of those moments or what was going through his mind, but obviously you’re trying to protect our players.”
Rajakovic had never been sent off from a match prior to his fiery outburst late in Thursday night’s match.
However, the Serbian was fined $25,000 by the NBA last season for attacking officials after a loss to the LA Lakers.
Before joining the Raptors, Rajakovic previously spent three years as an assistant coach with the Grizzlies.
Toronto’s record now stands at 7-24 after their latest loss – a game and a half ahead of the worst-ranked Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference.