The Knicks fell short in their litmus test against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. They also got a front-row seat at the preferential treatment that star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets on a daily basis.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the basket and bowled into Knicks star Jalen Brunson, whose feet were set in the paint. It was an obvious charge, but the officials kept the whistles in their pockets rather than slap a third personal foul on the OKC man.
That would have relegated Gilgeous-Alexander to the bench for the majority of the rest of the first half, which could have significantly changed things in the Thunder’s 103-100 victory.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown, incensed by the no-call, picked up a technical foul for the first time since taking over the squad this season.
“SGA had two fouls, and Jalen was there, and he ran him over. Just like the call they made on [OG Anunoby a few moments earlier],” Brown said. “I don’t understand why that was a no-call. That should have been his third, the bucket shouldn’t have counted, and we should have gone the other way with the basketball. To see that, knowing that Jalen is standing there and he’s putting his body on the line and our guys are fighting their asses off to try to win a ball game, it didn’t sit well with me.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has built a reputation for drawing more fouls than almost anyone in the NBA. His 9.2 free-throw attempts per game rank second in the league, only behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“He does a great job of convincing the referees he’s getting hit,” Brown quipped.
Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns’ strong night was cut short by the official’s whistle in the fourth quarter. He picked up his fifth foul after a Thunder review overturned an out-of-bounds call, and he was then given his marching orders when he fouled Gilgeous-Alexander for his sixth.
“It’s frustrating,” Towns said. “You want to win the game, and this one’s tight. You want to win the game and be out there with your teammates. It’s unfortunate that it was called.”
