Tom Thibodeau centered on inconsistent officiating after the Knicks’ intestine wrenching defeat Monday to the Raptors, utilizing sufficient ambiguities to keep away from a high-quality however delivering a transparent message about his unhappiness.
“I don’t really care if a game’s called tight or if it’s called loose. I just want consistency,” Thibodeau mentioned after the Knicks fell in additional time, 123-121. “That’s what I look for. And so, it was physical. It was. There was a lot going on. And so again, I wanna watch to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.”
Earlier, Thibodeau mentioned “it was hard to tell what a foul was” when itemizing the explanations for defeat. Despite Thibodeau’s apparent points, the foul-shot discrepancy was hardly obvious — the Knicks tried 35 foul pictures to Toronto’s 41.
Julius Randle, who took 9 free throws, wasn’t following his coach down this street.
“A six free-throw difference is not too crazy,” mentioned Randle, who dedicated probably the most consequential foul of the night when he was whistled for shoving Scottie Barnes on a rebound try with 6.1 seconds left in regulation.
Still, Thibodeau in all probability has some extent about one additional time name. With 3:30 remaining in additional time, Jalen Brunson was whistled for a foul on Fred VanVleet regardless of being pushed into the contact by one other Raptors participant.
Thibodeau challenged the foul however it was upheld. The Raptors scored 5 straight factors and took management of OT.
“I don’t know [if they missed the call],” Thibodeau mentioned. “You guys saw. Write what you see.”
Brunson additionally averted a high-quality.
“I think it was Scottie [Barnes] that bumped me into [VanVleet],” Brunson mentioned. “They felt otherwise, and that was that.”
GARDEN TRADITION
The Knicks performed extra video games on MLK Day — 37 — than every other franchise. They’re additionally profitable, this 12 months however, with a 23-14 document.
BRUNSON HONORED
Brunson beat out teammate Randle for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, turning into the primary Knick to win the award since Kemba Walker’s very temporary Christmas redemption tour final season.
For the week ending Sunday, Brunson averaged 34.8 factors, 5.8 rebounds and 5 assists because the Knicks went 4-1. Randle, who was among the many nominations for Player of the Week, averaged 26 factors and 15.8 rebounds in the identical stretch. He gained the award twice in the course of the 2020-21 season.
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis was the Western Conference Player of the Week.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com