Vincent GoodwillMar 5, 2026, 12:07 AM ET
NEW YORK -- Add New York Knicks coach Mike Brown to the growing chorus calling out the way the Oklahoma City Thunder are being officiated.
Brown was handed his first technical foul as Knicks coach late in the first quarter Wednesday night after complaining that referees missed what should have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's third foul when he crashed into Jalen Brunson. Brunson went down as Gilgeous-Alexander gathered himself for a layup with 1:57 left in the period.
A third foul on Gilgeous-Alexander could have changed the trajectory of a close game, which the Thunder won 103-100 after the Knicks missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final six seconds.
Brown was still bothered by the play during his postgame media availability.
"SGA, he's a tough cover, and he does a great job of convincing the referees -- probably better than anybody in the league -- that he's getting hit," Brown said.
Gilgeous-Alexander went to the line a game-high seven times en route to scoring 26 points with eight assists in 35 minutes. His 3-pointer with 1:18 left gave the Thunder a 103-96 lead.
The reigning league MVP is second to the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic in free throw attempts per game at 9.2 and leads the NBA in free throws made per game for a third straight season.
Of the play in question, Brown said: "Jalen was there, and he ran them over. It was like the call they made on OG [Anunoby]. I don't know, I don't understand why that was a no-call."
"That should've been his third [foul], the bucket shouldn't have counted and we should've gone the other way with the basketball," Brown continued. "Jalen is standing there, putting his body on the line and our guys are fighting their asses off to win the ball game, and it just didn't sit well with me."
Brown didn't blame the no-call for why the Knicks couldn't win their fourth straight game, however.
Brunson, who drew three offensive fouls on the Thunder, said he was happy to see Brown's passion on the sidelines.
"I'm going to have his back every single night. He has ours," Brunson said. "Regardless what he does or techs he gets, I'm going to have his back."
Brunson was sporting a bruise under his right eye. When asked about it, he smirked and said, "It was probably a no-call."
