OKLAHOMA CITY — Add the Phoenix Suns to the list of teams that have publicly complained about officiating after a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Suns star Devin Booker said after a 120-107 loss in Wednesday’s Game 2 that gave the defending champion Thunder a 2-0 series lead. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.
“It just feels disrespectful. I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now. So to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad.”
Booker expressed displeasure with the officiating in general and was perturbed in particular with a technical foul called against him with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Phoenix forward Dillon Brooks had a more common complaint, taking umbrage with whistles that benefited Oklahoma City’s reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 37 points, shooting 13-of-25 from the floor and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. His nine free throws matched his average for the regular season, which ranked third in the league behind the Los Angeles Lakers‘ Luka Doncic and Portland Trail Blazers‘ Deni Avdija.
“[Gilgeous-Alexander is] a little frail, and that’s what the refs are going to call,” said Brooks, who scored 30 points before fouling out with 25.3 seconds remaining. “I got to be smarter about it, but this is the playoffs. It’s a man’s game.
“Like, I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing or whoever else, when LeBron was younger. This is physical basketball. I don’t get why all the dropping and the falling and the flopping and the flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs. Leave that for the [regular] season for the fans. This is about who’s the better team, who’s a more with-it team. Don’t decide the games on no free throws.”
Gilgeous-Alexander brushed off the critical comments from Brooks, whom he plays alongside on Team Canada during the summers.
“I can’t control what Dillon or anybody else on the other side is going to complain about,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who attempted 17 free throws during the Thunder’s Game 1 blowout victory, one more than the Suns shot in that Sunday afternoon contest. “All I can do is try to go out there and win basketball games for my team.
“But Dillon’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He’s supposed to bring energy to the game, rile up the game. And once again, he did a good job of bringing energy to the game tonight. It was super fun out there. I love playing against him.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and Brooks had a couple of notable interactions during Wednesday’s game.
After hitting a pull-up jumper over Brooks with 4:55 remaining in the second quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander mockingly pointed at his opponent and talked some trash while backpedaling down the court. With a smile, Gilgeous-Alexander said that was in response to Brooks talking trash after blocking his shot on the previous possession.
“He was screaming and hollering,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was just doing his usual antics and then I scored on him. And yeah, I let him hear it.”
After Brooks’ fifth foul with 3:02 remaining in the game, Brooks made the flopping gesture with his right arm toward crew chief Williams while Gilgeous-Alexander laid flat on his back. That call sent Gilgeous-Alexander to the line with the Thunder up by 11 points.
“I think I got to look back at it and see if there are really fouls,” Brooks said. “But all I know is when I be watching, when I was out of the playoffs or I’ve been in the playoffs or I’d be watching from before I was in the NBA, it’s straight physical. It’s straight, low-scoring, physical basketball, and you got to score the basketball to win or get stops to win. Not this flailing and going to the line and stoppage of play. Got to fix that.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said Brooks’ antics didn’t bother him.
“We know Dillon. We know the guy he is,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s a great guy and a fierce competitor. We played on his team, so we appreciate that. We know what he brings to the table for his team, and he’s a high-level player because of that.”
Brooks also had a brief confrontation with Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort, another member of the Canadian national team, that resulted in double technical fouls being called with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter.
“That’s just the type of guy he is, the type of competitor he is,” Dort said. “You got to respect it. The techs, I don’t know why I got a tech. I got pushed. But it is what it is. I mean, I was involved in it, but hopefully I can get with the team and the [players association] and all that to get it rescinded. But he’s just a competitor. That’s the type of energy he brings to the game, so you just got to respect him.”
Booker said he never received an explanation for why he was given a technical. It was called by referee J.B. DeRosa after Booker, who appeared to prevent an out-of-bounds infraction, threw a pass that hit Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams. Williams was called for a foul on the play for bumping Booker, knocking him out of bounds.
Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso lobbied for Booker to receive a technical before it was called.
“It’s definitely something that has to be looked into,” Booker said.
Booker was well aware that his criticism of the officials would put him in jeopardy of being fined by the league office, a price he considered worth paying.
“This is my first time in 11 years, but it’s needed,” Booker said. “Whatever I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration is from.”
