Ronald Tillery

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

SAN ANTONIO — Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, visibly annoyed after their Game 2 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, said early in his postgame press conference that a glass of wine on the team plane might calm him down.

But he popped a cork before the bus ride.

Fizdale unleashed scathing criticism of the officials Monday night before leaving the podium and is now subject to a fine from the NBA. The league prohibits players and coaches from publicly criticizing referees.

“It was a very poorly officiated basketball game,” Fizdale said after the Grizzlies fell behind 2-0 in the series against the Spurs following a 96-82 loss.

His rant was prompted by a major disparity in fouls called.

The Grizzlies were whistled for 22 fouls, compared to 13 for the Spurs.

San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard attempted more free throws (19-for-19) than Memphis (13-for 15) did combined. The Spurs collectively connected on 31 of 32 from the line.

Listen: Fizdale gets fiery in post-game presser, Geoff Calkins reacts

“Zach Randolph, the most rugged guy in the game, had zero free throws," Fizdale said, his voice booming. “But somehow, Kawhi Leonard had 19 free throws. First half, we shot 19 shots in the paint and we had six free throws. They shot 11 times in the paint and they had 23 free throws. I'm not a numbers guy, but that doesn't seem to add up. Overall, 35 times we shot the ball in the paint. We had 15 free throws for the game. They shot 18 times in the paint and had 32 free throws. Kawhi shot more free throws than our whole team. Explain it to me.”

The comments were directed at the work of Dan Crawford, Rodney Mott and Bill Spooner.

The Grizzlies sliced a 26-point deficit to 75-71 in the fourth quarter. Fizdale called the officiating “unprofessional” and explained part of his ire is because of a lack of respect the Grizzlies receive.

“It's unfortunate that I've got a guy like Mike Conley that in his whole career has got zero technical fouls and just cannot seem to get the proper respect from the officials that he deserves,” Fizdale said. “We don't get the respect that these guys deserve because Mike Conley doesn't go crazy. He has class, and he just plays the game.

“But I'm not going to let them treat us that way. I know Pop’s (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) got pedigree and I'm a young rookie (head coach). But they're not going to rook us. That's unacceptable. That was unprofessional. Our guys dug in that game and earned the right to be in that game. And they did not even give us a chance.”

Typically, coaches are levied a $25,000 fine.

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Conley, who made four of five foul shots, backed his coach’s assertion but resisted saying anything that would warrant discipline from the league.

“As far as getting to the free-throw line? No, but they respect me as a person, I feel like. But when it comes to the game, I'm not sure,” Conley said when asked if he believed the officials respect him on the court.

Before Fizdale ended his tirade Monday, he slammed his hand on the table, stood up and stormed out of the room.

“Take that for data,” he said.

Fizdale became the second Grizzly to publicly rip officiating in recent memory. Forward Zach Randolph received a $25,000 fine in December 2013 after a road loss to the Houston Rockets. Guard James Harden shot 22-for-25 from the free-throw line while the Grizzlies combined for 20 foul shots.

"Eight against five,” Randolph said at the time. “The game — in the second half — the man was shooting free throws every time. We're out there playing hard. They're dictating the game. It can't be like that, man. We're out here playing, too. It was horrible refereeing — a horrible game they reffed tonight. Awful. They dictated the game. Plain, point simple. They dictated the game. We're out here working as hard as them. Come on, man."

Reach Ronald Tillery at Ronald.Tillery@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @CAGrizBeat.

GRIZZLIES vs. SPURS

Local TV, radio: Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9-FM, 680-AM

Spurs lead 2-0

Game 1: at San Antonio 111, Memphis 82

Monday: at San Antonio, 96, Memphis 82

Thursday: at Memphis, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)

Saturday: at Memphis, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

x-Tuesday, April 25: at San Antonio, TBD

x-Thursday, April 27: at Memphis, TBD

x-Saturday, April 29: at San Antonio, TBD (TNT)

x-if necessary