'I'm baffled': Mike Brown blasts referees after narrow loss vs. Suns / News - Basketnews.com

Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown vocalized criticisms against NBA referees after a very narrow loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

Sacramento Kings and team head coach Mike Brown received a heavy 107-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns en route to the NBA post-season, which was a crucial game for the fate of the playoffs.

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In a post-game interview, Mike Brown went after the referees, expressing his belief that his team has continuously been negatively discriminated against throughout the season by officiating mistakes.

"From my seat, I am just baffled. I am not sure why we can't get a call from an NBA official down the stretch," Brown said. "For them to call a boxout foul on [Domantas] Sabonis when the game is as physical as it is and give them two free throw attempts to take the lead with seconds left in the game..."

"I hope I am wrong, but from my seat, it looked like Fox got hit across the arm. Actually, I pray that I am wrong because then I'll sleep better at night," he stated.

Then, Brown went a few games back. On April 10, they were beaten 112-105 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and on April 6, they were beaten 101-100 by the Boston Celtics.

"In Oklahoma City, Shai travel[ed]. In Boston, Coby gets smacked in the face. In real-time, when you are trying to plead your case, guys look at you and say, 'There's no contact,'" the coach recalled.

"It's just tough when you can't get a call, but the other team keeps getting calls, and the officials feel like they are right. And then the [Last] Two Minute Report comes out, and 'Shai traveled, Coby got smacked in the face,' and they [referees] go home and sleep at night, and we're up all night, fretting over the game because we are fighting for our playoff lives," Brown stated sternly.

The Last Two Minute Reports are defined by the NBA as "the league's assessment of officiated events that occurred in the last two minutes of games that were at or within three points during any point in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter (and overtime, where applicable)."

The loss to the Suns was particularly tough for Brown since it was only a 1-point victory, which he believes was influenced by the referees.

"So, it's tough to see it from my seat. I hope the officials were right, especially when they called a boxout foul on Domas to give [Jusuf] Nurkic two free throws to put them up... It's just a tough way to lose basketball games when stuff is as obvious as it is, but there's no call," he concluded.

With the loss to the Suns, Sacramento regressed to a 45-36 record. They are currently ranked 9th in the Western Conference with one more regular season game to go against the Portland Trail Blazers.

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