New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau blew up deluxe at the referees after his side slumped to a 117-108 to the Orlando Magic.
The Knicks made a fourth-quarter charge to nearly pull off a miracle comeback after missing 17 of their first 18 three-point shots (and 24 of 30 overall) in a horrible shooting start.
But after a second-straight loss, Thibodeau again took aim at the referees for failing to award star guard Jalen Brunson enough fouls.
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“I am so, like, what this guy is going through is ridiculous. Ridiculous,” Thibodeau said. “You’re getting hammered time after time, I’m just getting sick and tired of it.
“Like, I watch. I send it in. I see it all. And it’s, they’re fouls. It’s plain and simple, they’re fouls and there’s no other way to say it, except they’re fouls. They’re fouls.
“No one drives the ball more to the rim than this guy does. And if you rake across his arm, you rake across his arm. And if you hit him in the head, you hit him in the head. Those are fouls. Those are fouls. [I’m] sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of it.”
He added he “didn’t know what a foul was” in the second half.
Brunson made all 12 of his free throw attempts, but was not immune to his team’s shooting woes from the floor, going 4-of-15.
“Shots are not going to fall, but with that being said, it still was a winnable game,” Brunson said.
But, just like after the loss to the Thunder last time out (where he had a season-high 13 free throw attempts), he refused to comment on the referees and potential missed fouls.
“Next question,” he repeated twice after being asked about it this time – the same answer he delivered last time out.
Franz Wagner led the Magic (19-12) with 32 points and Paulo Banchero registered 29 with 10 rebounds.
NUGGETS STUNNED BY THUNDER
The Denver Nuggets’ six-game winning streak came to an end on Friday with the defending NBA champions failing to a 119-93 loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points for the Thunder, shooting 14 of 20 from the field and making 10 out of 10 free throws.
The win moves the Thunder above the Nuggets into second place in the West on 21-9, behind leaders Minnesota (23-7).
The Nuggets’ Serbian star Nikola Jokic made 19 points shooting nine of 10 from the field and had ten rebounds but gave up seven turnovers.
Australia’s Josh Giddey had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in just 21 minutes.
The Thunder led 54-48 at the break and extended their lead to 20 points by the end of the third quarter.
It was the fifth time this season that Gilgeous-Alexander enjoyed a 40-point game and he said it was a “super fun” performance.
“We have so many weapons on the floor that I get to play in space and when I play in space, in my comfort zone, I have pretty good nights,” he said.
GIANNIS PULLS OFF COMEBACK WIN
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo top scored with 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks, second in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, came back to win 119-111 at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
The Bucks trailed 59-52 down at halftime but dominated the third quarter to end a four-game road trip with a 3-1 record.
Antetokounmpo shot 14 of 22 from the field and grabbed 16 rebounds and five assists — and he was well supported by Damian Lillard, who scored 31 points and converted all 11 of his free throws.
Lillard said Milwaukee (24-8) had faced up to their slow start during frank exchanges during the interval.
“We came into the locker room and we just kind of addressed that we hadn’t done a lot of things well,” said Lillard, who scored 24 of his points in the second half.
“They started the game better than us. Our transition defence, you know, it was bad. They got to the spots they wanted to, they played a comfortable game and they’re a good team,” he said.
Lillard and Antetokounmpo took over in the third quarter, each scoring 14 points as the Bucks shifted the momentum decisively.
“A good game on the road, end of a road trip, a team challenging us and, we had to show our character and I thought we came out in the third quarter and established that,” added Lillard, who praised the team’s improved defence.
“You’ve got to be on the string, five guys, and I thought that was where we made the biggest improvement. We did things together, our communication, getting to spots and supporting each other. We did that much more consistently in the second half,” he said.
Donovan Mitchell returned after missing four games to provide 34 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Cavs, who remain without the injured Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.
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OTHER RESULTS
Eastern Conference leaders, the Boston Celtics, extended their 100% home record to 16 games with a 120-118 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Jaylen Brown had 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics with Ferrick White adding 21 points and Luke Kornet 20 as Boston won their fifth straight game.
The game was tied at 116 when Kornet made a dunk with 32 seconds left to grab a lead that Boston held on to.
Tyrese Maxey scored 42 points for the Philadelphia 76ers, third in the East, as they put aside their injury woes to win 131-127 in Houston.
Philadelphia’s main man, the league’s MVP Joel Embiid, missed his third straight game with an ankle injury and Nicolas Batum was also sidelined.
Tobias Harris helped out with 22 points for the 76ers who condemned the Rockets to their third straight loss.
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points, 26 of them in the second half, as the Sacramento Kings came back from a poor start to beat the Atlanta Hawks 117-110.
The Kings trailed by 18 points at the break but dominated the second half with Fox ended the night with a career high eight three-pointers.
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