Raptors' Rajakovic draws fiery ejection against Grizzlies
Published
Thursday was a night to forget for the Toronto Raptors, who allowed a franchise-worst 155 points in a lopsided loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis. The defeat was Toronto's ninth in a row and is tied for the second longest streak in the league this season behind the Washington Wizards' string of 16.
The frustration was evident with Raptors second-year head coach Darko Rajakovic, who was ejected for the first time in his career and very much said his piece prior to leaving the court.
With the Raptors down big early in the fourth quarter, Rajakovic apparently took issue with a non-call on forward Scottie Barnes' drive to the basket. After the Grizzlies scored at the other end, the 45-year-old called a timeout and angrily stormed onto the court to scream at officials.
An irate Rajakovic was handed a technical foul and quickly drew another as his demeanor escalated, earning him his first career ejection. Barnes, forward Ochai Agbaji and assistant coach Pat Delany all held back Toronto's head coach and ushered him away from officials following his second technical.
Delany, who took over following the ejection, explained his boss' frustration.
“I think it was just more obviously an us mentality, an expectation from our group. How we hold each other to a high standard and obviously we weren’t playing at that. I can’t speak for him in terms of those moments or what was going through his mind sort of thing, but obviously trying to protect our players and whatnot. But we didn’t respond the way – obviously that wasn’t the reason we were at where we were at in the game either," he said.
Rajakovic was an assistant with the Grizzlies from 2020 to 2023, joining the Raps for his first NBA head coaching gig prior to the 2023-24 season. According to Lang Whitaker of Grind City Media, several Grizzlies players enjoyed seeing their former coach's fiery display of anger.
While this was his first official ejection, it's not the first time Rajakovic has publicly taken aim at officials. The Raps' bench boss unleashed an animated post-game news conference last January after a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, eventually drawing a $25,000 fine from the league.
"They had to win tonight? If that's the case just let us know so we don't show up for the game, just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight," he said as part of his post-game address.
Thursday's loss dropped Toronto to 7-24 on the season. They sit just a half game ahead of the Washington Wizards (5-23) for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors will be back in action on Sunday at home against the Atlanta Hawks (16-15).