By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Memphis Grizzlies were en route to a franchise record for points in a single game when Darko Rajakovic was tossed after two quickfire technical fouls.
With 10:29 left in the fourth quarter and after calling a timeout, the Serbian head coach of the Toronto Raptors was complaining about calls made to the referees.
After the first technical and despite his players trying to restrain him, he kept yelling and cursing, leading to a second technical and the ejection.
With the hosts already in a comfortable lead, they went on to prevail, 155-126, in FedExForum and jump to 21-10 in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season.
Due to an injury in his left ankle, Spanish Santi Aldama was forced to an early exit from the record-breaking offensive showing of the Grizzlies. The 23-year-old forward/center was helped back to the locker room during the first quarter. He lasted only three minutes, tallying four points and three rebounds.
A ninth straight loss for the Raptors, including the last four with Austrian starting center Jakob Poeltl (bilateral groin strain) stuck to the injury list.
Without Giannis Antetokounmpo for a third straight game, the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a loss, 111-105, to the Brooklyn Nets in Fiserv Forum. The Greek Freak was initially questionable due to back spasms, the reason behind missing the two previous fixtures, but was eventually ruled out with an illness.
On the opposite end, Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot) remained sidelined for the team coached by Spanish Jordi Fernandez.
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