The game between Milwaukee and Boston, beyond Antetokounmpo’s injury, will be remembered because it is the game with the fewest free throws in NBA history. Only two were thrown in the entire clash and both were in favor of the Greek, who missed one of them.
The Celtics are also the first team in league history to not have a free throw in the 77 years of the NBA. The Hawks, in 2018, and the Grizzlies, in 2014, were left with only one pitch.
Before Bucks-Celtics, the game with the fewest free throws was in November 2019, when Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic shot 11 free throws between them, a figure far surpassed by the game played last night at the Fiserv Forum.
This permissiveness on the part of the referees surprised Doc Rivers, Milwaukee coach: “When they gave me the statistics sheet I asked them for the entire game, because I thought they were the statistics at halftime. Only two free throws in a basketball game is crazy,” explained the coach.
Damian Lillard, the second sword of the Bucks, was also amazed by the refereeing decisions: “It has been strange, but it seems to be a trend. Fouls are no longer part of the game. There have been times when I have felt that they were missing, and Others in which I was surprised because they didn’t whistle at me… I think they are really letting us play,” the Bucks point guard commented after the game.
Teammate Brook Lopez was stunned to learn the statistic: “It’s strange, but I didn’t realize that until they told me right before I went into the locker room.” The reality is that his team had a very complete game in defense, as they only committed four fouls in the match, an unusual number of infractions, since no franchise had committed so few fouls.
In the Celtics, Jayson Tatum assured that the referees let the game play, because the playoffs for the title are approaching: “Maybe they are just preparing us for the playoffs, they are going to overlook a lot of things,” said the stronghold of Boston, the best team of the regular season.
