Another Oklahoma City Thunder play and another call in favor of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The protests against OKC and SGA’s whistle have been rampant on social media, and another moment against the New York Knicks only added more fuel to that narrative.

In the first quarter, with 2 minutes left, the Thunder made a tough basket. Jalen Brunson got himself in the right position as he went down absorbing a contact from SGA. Instead of the call being in favor of the Knicks, the whistle blew in OKC’s favor. It looked like Brunson may have picked up a charge, and the Knicks’ bench certainly thought so. And that would have been the third foul on Gilgeous-Alexander.

JB put himself in a position to draw that offensive foul. But they didn’t get the call. There’s nothing more you can do on the part of the Knicks on that possession. That’s why Mike Brown was furious.

Because Jalen Brunson gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander so much time to see him, and still was not able to stop. Mike Brown was incensed and instantly started screaming at the officials. Thus earned his technical foul for the game. Unlike other coaches who have been ejected against OKC, the Knicks’ head coach said his piece, received a T, and then did not engage further.

If Brown had continued, he would have been ejected, and that would have been another catastrophe for the Knicks. Once again, the officials favoring the OKC narrative gained steam on social media.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Fans roast Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC

SGA’s elite at initiating contact without getting tagged. But getting three fouls in the first quarter would have had him on the ropes. But the fans felt refs avoided this situation by favoring the call to the Thunder. Brunson’s protest or Brown’s frustration are justified, which led to a comment, “Maybe the most blatant miss ever.”

It has happened before, and at that time the Warriors were on the receiving end. During their matchup in early January, the referee on the opposite side suddenly called a foul on Al Horford for contact against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Crowd, players, and social media were confused. Replays showed Horford jumping to block SGA’s shot without making any contact. After multiple frustrating calls, the fans are incensed.

With heavy scrutiny about the league and gambling issues, one netizen commented, “Who in the league is protecting SGA? Do the officials have money on him for season long props?” Other coaches have received ejections and technical fouls during the game against the OKC. Timberwolves head coach was blunt on his assessment of the Thunder after he thought he was unfairly ejected.

“It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton,” Chris Finch said. “They really do. They foul, they foul all the time. And then you can’t really touch Shai. It’s a very frustrating thing, and it takes a lot of mental toughness to play through it.” That’s why Mike Brown’s frustration was also justified. And a fan trolled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for it. “Ofc the refs gotta protect SGA again 😂😂.”

Earlier in the season, even the Pacers’ coach, Rick Carlisle, was on the receiving end of a tech. He wanted some time to check if a call should be challenged. Still, the officials let the ball be inbounded after less than five seconds. Carlisle was upset and started arguing with the ref, resulting in him being given a technical. Since more teams suffer the same outcome against OKC, it becomes easier for fans to hate them. “Bruh this is why i can’t respect the thunder.”

Add to it the physicality and the plays that Thunder gets away with. Especially their veteran Lu Dort. The most recent behavior was against the Nuggets. As Dort appeared to deliberately move into the path of Nikola Jokic, tripping the three-time MVP and sending him crashing to the hardwood. Another netizen wrote, “And okc fans, wonder why, nobody likes this team.”

Be it playoffs or the regular season, the constant calls that the Thunder get away with have bothered a lot of fan bases.