Lakers coach Walton fined $15,000 for criticising officials

Los Angeles, October 25: Lakers coach Luke Walton has been fined $15,000 for his criticism of the officiating after Los Angeles' 143-142 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Walton slammed the referees for what he believed were numerous missed calls during the game.

He prefaced his post-game remarks with: "I was going to save my money, but I just can't anymore," alluding to a fine he could face for his comments. The NBA confirmed his punishment on Wednesday.

"It's [74] points in the paint [by the Lakers] to 50, [and yet] again they outshoot us from the free-throw line - 38 free throws [to 26 by the Lakers]," Walton told reporters after his team's loss.

"Watch the play where I got a technical foul. Watch what happened to LeBron James' arm. It's the same thing that James Harden and Chris Paul [drew fouls on and] shot 30 free throws on us the night before ... We are scoring 70 points a night – in the paint."

He added: "Watch how Josh Hart plays this game. He played 40 minutes. All he does is attack the rim. Zero free throws. Zero. So to me, it doesn't matter. I know they're young, I get that. But if we are going to play a certain way, let's not reward people for flopping 30 feet from the hole on plays that have nothing to do with that possession. They're just flopping just to see if they get a foul call. And then not reward players that are physically going to the basket and getting hit. It's not right."

Walton did admit the Lakers were responsible for some of the fouls they received on Monday, which is something they will work on going forward.

"We are fouling, some of that is our fault," Walton said. "We are going to continue to get better on that."