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There is maybe nothing as predictable and tedious in the NBA playoffs — and all of sports — than the coach of a losing playoff team ranting about the officiating. It’s a cliche with the point of trying to plant a seed in the minds of the next referee crew, although that’s not always how it comes off.
Knicks coach Mike Brown, the floor is yours.
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“I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight. I don’t think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts,” Brown said in a rant before he was ever asked a question. “San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, okay. It’s going to lower our odds big time, 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. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too.”
Brown sounded too much like a guy making excuses. To be fair, he was clear to say “San Antonio won the game” and the Knicks could have played better, but his venting sounded a lot like a politician who attended Game 3 and likes to play to his base — and Knicks fans ate it up. In the immediate aftermath of the game, it became the narrative, at least the loudest one.
It also misses the point. The officiating has been uneven all series, but it has gone both ways (and did in Game 3).
San Antonio won Game 3 because it made adjustments that worked, and then played with more poise than the Knicks down the stretch. There were a few factors at play.
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• Turnovers: New York had 13 turnovers, too many of them live ball, which became 21 Spurs points. The Spurs had eight turnovers that became seven Knicks points. San Antonio both took better care of the ball and got back in transition defense, resulting in the Spurs having more easy buckets.
• Better defense on KAT: San Antonio turned some of its defensive attention from Jalen Brunson (who is shooting 37% in this series and the Knicks are -13 for the series in his minutes) to Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been the hub of what has worked for New York. Victor…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mike-brown-rants-officiating-excuse-163327437.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-09 16:33:00
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