Just like in any other major sport, officiating in the NBA often faces criticism, and recent events have brought attention to controversial calls and seemingly unjust technical fouls, leaving players and head coaches frustrated.
Last night, the intense matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Oklahoma City Thunder ended with OKC securing the victory over the Suns and moving to the 1st seed of the Western Conference, which made the Kevin Durant-led Suns and their Head Coach, Frank Vogel, frustrated with the referees.
Franks Vogel goes off on referees to defend Kevin Durant
HC Frank Vogel was frustrated throughout the game and didn’t hold back his feelings during the press conference as well. He highlighted potentially missed foul calls by the officials on Kevin Durant.
Frank said, “I’ll start by saying they fouled the s— out of Kevin Durant all night. Whether he has the ball and he’s in the script three or four, maybe five times, every time he’s trying to get open, he’s being held, which is something I really want the league to look at. But we’ve had issues with it throughout the year.”
He also spoke about Jusuf Nurkic breaking the Suns’ franchise record of 31 rebounds in a single game.
“I don’t know, man, I’m just trying to do my role the best I can. But it’s kind of really messed up when you have 13 offensive rebounds and 16 shots, then zero free throws,” he said.
Vogel was clearly not happy with the 22 turnovers by the Suns over the OKC, which only had 6.
Kevin Durant talks on OKC’s double team strategy
It wasn’t the best night for Kevin Durant either, as he finished with 20 points, shooting just 40% from the field, which is the lowest score he put up in his last six games.
During the post-game interview in the locker room area, Durant talked about figuring out ways to tackle OKC’s double-team strategy and how they fell short even after overcoming the 24-point deficit.
“We had spurts, but it’s not a good feeling not to be consistent,” Durant said.
Bradley Beal, leading the Suns with 31 points, was also asked to address the press about the turnover issue, to which he said, “Just shoot the ball.”
Despite a strong run to overcome the deficit, the overall frustration with officiating led the Phoenix Suns to their loss and drop to the No. 7 seed in the West.
