As the Thunder and Spurs continue to slug it out in the Western Conference Finals, the scrutiny of the officiating grows stronger by the game. Even as Game 3 of this series raged on Friday night, a number of sports personalities weighed in on the referees’ performance.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, for one, thought that the officiating was overkill in this game.
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“Refs doin too much,” Lillard tweeted.
Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons appeared to echo Lillard’s sentiments, as he too made his opinion heard during the Thunder-Spurs game.
“It’s becoming very hard to watch basketball!!”
In Game 3, the Thunder were whistled for 28 fouls while the Spurs got called for 25 fouls. Both OKC and San Antonio picked up more fouls compared to Game 2, when they tallied 21 fouls apiece.
If there was ever any barometer for this tightly contested Western Conference Finals, it’s free throws made. Thus far in this series, the team that wins the free throw battle, goes on to win the game. Friday night at Frost Bank Center, the Thunder narrowly edged out the Spurs in this category, with two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going 12-for-12 by his lonesome.
As such, the officiating takes on even more significance. In the first three games of this series, fans have pointed out several instances of questionable calls and non-calls. Perhaps the most egregious of them all is the Game 2 sequence in which no referee blew their whistle after Isaiah Hartenstein blatantly tugged on Stephon’s Castle hair.
At the end of the day, though, the Thunder reclaimed homecourt advantage by blowing out the Spurs 123-108 in their own gym. With San Antonio out to avoid a 1-3 hole in Game 4, all eyes will be on the referees’ handling of the game once again.
“He’s Got a Great Ability to Stay Poised”: Thunder HC Praises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander After Game 3 Win
One star who has remained even-keeled amidst the polarizing whistle in the Thunder-Spurs series is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After OKC sealed the Game 3 victory, head coach Mark Daigneault praised SGA’s composure amidst tremendous attention from the Spurs defense.
“It was kind of a muddy games at different points for us, and I thought we found some things to get him loose and the rest of the team loose offensively. It wasn’t easy. None of these games are, but he’s just got a great ability to stay poised and stay present when the game gets muddy.”
Daigneault added that the reigning Finals MVP “understands the nature of a playoff game” and that he made huge plays for the Thunder throughout Game 3.