Clippers' Paul George Fined for Calling Out Refs Following Loss vs. Sixers

As Brett Brown always says, "If I gave my opinion on the referees, I wouldn't be able to afford a new sofa." While Brown's comment is always an exaggeration, he definitely isn't kidding when he means the fine that comes with criticizing NBA referees is a hefty one.

Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George was reminded of that on Thursday afternoon as he previously made some comments about the officiating on Tuesday night. The Clippers came to South Philly for the one and only time this season to face the always-dominant Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

While Paul and the Clippers knew they were entering a tough challenge against a team that plays excellently in front of their fans, the Clippers' star felt like his team was playing against the referees too, and not just the Sixers.

"There was some home-court cooking tonight, to say the least," George barked after they took a 110-103 loss to the Sixers. "I mean, it was 19-11. You all figure out what those numbers are -- it was 19-11."

The numbers Paul is referring to happens to be the number of fouls issued for each team. In his eyes, the calls were lopsided. While that's up for debate, the NBA surely wasn't having it. Therefore, they issued the Clippers' veteran a $35,000 fine for his comments.

It seems Paul George was using the unfavorable calls thrown in their direction as a means to why they lost. Clippers' head coach Doc Rivers, however, simply thought their offense was bad. "I thought we lost the game tonight because we just didn't play with any continuity offensively," Rivers said.

Regardless of whether George had a point or not, it doesn't take away the fact that the Sixers played one of their better all-around games against a stellar opponent. The hope in Philly is that they can keep up the same pace when they return from the All-Star break next week. With 27 games left in the season, the Sixers have an opportunity to build on this momentum -- and they shouldn't need 'home-court cooking' to do so.

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