The New York Knicks saw their impressive postseason winning streak come to an end on Monday night with a 115-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. After the game, however, Knicks head coach Mike Brown was not happy about the officiating.
During his postgame press conference, Brown took the opportunity to call out the officiating in the game, specifically highlighting the massive free-throw disparity in the second half of the contest, which he believed played a big role in sinking his team’s chances of winning the game.
In the second half of Monday night’s game, the Spurs show 24 free throws in the second half of the game. Meanwhile, the Knicks only shot eight.
Brown kept a calm demeanor as he brought up this disparity in his postgame press conference, but he did not hold back from expressing his displeasure.
“I want to get something clear,” Brown told reporters following Monday’s Game 3 showdown. “Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs, they won the game tonight. They came and took the game. But I will say this: I never thought I’d be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight.”
Brown went on to add that he does not often complain about officiating. He also said that if that happens again, it will greatly impact the team’s chances to win Game 4, as well.
“I don’t think I complain much about officials or about the fairness when it comes to the free-throw attempts,” Brown said. “San Antonio is a great team. They’re a great team. It’s going to lower our odds big-time if we play Game 4 and in the second half they get 24 free-throw attempts to our eight.”
“Maybe we were fouling, but they fouled too,” he added.
The Knicks now have a 2-1 lead headed into Wednesday night’s Game 4, meaning San Antonio will have at least one more home game in the series.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.