12h49 CET
05/03/2026
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receives favourable decisions from the league's referees.
That is the claim of New York Knicks coach Mike Brown, who was baffled by some of the calls that went against his team in their defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC edged out the Knicks 103-100 on Wednesday, snapping New York's winning streak at three games.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points, and nailed a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to put OKC into a seven-point lead.
But Brown was far from impressed with the officiating, as he pointed out what he felt should have been a foul when Gilgeous-Alexander clattered into Jalen Brunson.
As reported by ESPN, Brown said: "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.
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"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.
"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 received a technical foul for his complaints.
But Brunson was thrilled to see such passion from his coach.
"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."