J.B. Bickerstaff Receives Fine After Critical Comments vs. Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers' matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night came down to the wire. As both teams needed the win due to playoff implications, the battle remained tight until the game finally ended.

For Philly, a win would put them in the playoffs officially. As for the Cavaliers, they were looking to improve their spot in the standings to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament potentially, and straight-up make the playoffs as the sixth seed.

Critical games can get emotional for players and coaches, and the Cavaliers were clearly frustrated after Sunday's game. As the 76ers got the best of Cleveland and made it out of the matchup with a 112-108 win, Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff believed that his team got the short-end of the stick from Sunday's referees.

Critical Comments for the Officials

During a routine postgame press conference, Bickerstaff let his emotions get the best of him. When discussing his team's tight loss, Bickerstaff sounded off on Sunday night's officials as he wasn't pleased with the number of calls the Sixers, and specifically, Joel Embiid and James Harden got compared to the lack of calls his team received.

"That game was taken from us," Bickerstaff said following the matchup. "We deserved to win it. The one thing you can't defend is the free-throw line, and that's absurd. They're great players, and they understand how to play through the rules. They know how to manipulate the rules. This is no knock or disrespect to those guys. But the game has to be consistent on both ends of the floor. We were searching for that consistency, and we never found it."

On Sunday, the Sixers were whistled for 19 personal fouls, issuing the Cavaliers 31 free throw attempts. On the other hand, the Cavaliers committed 28 fouls, gifting the 76ers 42 free throw attempts.

Whether Bickerstaff was right or wrong to be critical of the officiating, he still received a fine from the league, as expected. According to an NBA press release from Monday night, Bickerstaff has been fined $15,000 for his comments regarding the officials.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.