The Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 120-111 on Monday, their fourth victory in a row, but star forward Paul George was not in a good mood afterward. George was ejected after picking up two technical fouls in altercations with Sixers swingman Gerald Henderson, and he had a lot to say about Henderson and the officials.

Before we get to the quotes, here’s the double technical foul that was assessed to George and Henderson with about five minutes left in the game:

And here’s the play that got them both kicked out -- Henderson was given a flagrant-2, while George received a technical foul (presumably for how he reacted):

It has to sting to get ejected after taking an elbow to the throat, but that’s what happened to George. Here are his key quotes, via CSN Philly:

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  • “I mean, y’all know how I feel about the officials, and tonight I really have no faith in ‘em. I’ve been warning ‘em all night what he’s going to do, stuff he’s doing, and they allowed this s--- to go on. He was throwing jabs, throwing punches at my stomach all night, and I didn’t retaliate until late in the game when they weren’t doing s--- about it. So he pulled me down, I get a double tech for doing nothing. And then throw an elbow at my neck, I get another tech for nothing. So I really don’t have no respect, nothing is there for the officiating. S----- officiating job.”
  • “It was physical all night. And again, they didn’t do nothing after I warned ‘em a couple times of what’s going on. They did nothing about it, nothing about it. It’s crazy.”
  • “I don’t care about him. It’s the fact that they let him do that. That’s the problem I have. It’s the fact that they allowed him to do that, and I’m the one that gets a technical for the s--- he’s doing.”
  • For whatever reason, he doesn’t like getting scored on by me. I get this every time he’s at home. I guess that’s when he feels confident. He’s sweet on the road, but at home is when he gets some nuts. 

George said he wanted the NBA to rescind both of his technical fouls. He also joked that he’d have to set aside some money for fines next year. Discipline is likely coming soon, and it won’t be the first time for him, either.

Henderson, by the way, maintains his innocence. He said he “didn’t intentionally try to hit him,” via CSN’s Jessica Camerato, and added that George elbowed him before the play that got them both ejected, per CSN’s John Clark. Here’s the elbow in question -- watch George after he scores:

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My take: That elbow means that George isn’t blame-free, but he is correct to assert that he shouldn’t have been ejected. While his criticism of the referees was extreme, he did have a point -- if this was building all game, something should have been done sooner.