Courtside frustration spilled over late at Paycom Center, but according to senior NBA reporter Sam Amick, the Thunder almost felt left out of the drama. While Austin Reaves confronted officials after the buzzer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jokingly wondered if Oklahoma City could get its own turn with the refs too.

Austin Reaves called the veteran official John Goble “disrespectful” and engaged in a discussion after the final whistle. It was not only the Lakers that had a problem with the referee, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander felt his flagrant foul call was also inaccurate. Even Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault had frustrations of his own, turning the game into a night where both sidelines walked away unhappy with the officiating. Senior NBA reporter Sam Amick was courtside at Paycom Center and revealed that the media seats gave him the best view of the entire officiating drama.

He “heard every single word,” including the NSFW comments from Austin Reaves. But that was not his favorite part. “My favorite part was the Thunder were watching all the Lakers around the refs and having a little bit of FOMO, clearly,” Amick said on Run It Back. “And then Shai, I could hear him. He looks at, I think, Ben Taylor, and he kind of shouts,’ Hey, Ben, can we get a meeting too?'” He called the entire drama “crazy”.

That moment summed up the night’s atmosphere: both teams disagreed with the whistle, even if the Lakers were the louder side after the game. Multiple calls frustrated Los Angeles, especially during a jump-ball sequence involving Reaves. According to AR, players had been shifting positions throughout the game without issue, but when he did the same, Goble “turned around and yelled in my face.” That exchange was the main reason Reaves approached the officials after the final whistle.

While he got to say his piece, the Thunder chose not to linger near the officiating crew and instead headed back toward the locker room in the usual postgame routine. Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander felt his flagrant was uncalled for.

Early in the third quarter on Thursday night, the current MVP received a flagrant 1 foul for seemingly hitting Austin Reaves and dragging him down by the elbow. By then, tempers had already flared, and it was SGA’s career first flagrant foul. “I didn’t get an explanation. But I also didn’t ask. I’m not going to be able to change the call, so I didn’t really care. I felt like he was hung around me, and I just tried to get loose. Our arms got caught. Unfortunate. Yeah, I didn’t mean to hurt him (Austin), obviously. But it’s the way it goes. I got a flagrant. It is what it is. We move on.”

The sequence also added to Gilgeous-Alexander’s difficult night managing fouls. Though Reaves’ arms were around the Thunder superstar at the start, Gilgeous-Alexander very clearly locked AR up. The MVP picked up his fourth foul during the third quarter, while OKC finished the game with 26 total fouls compared to the Lakers’ 21. Even Mark Daigneault addressed the emotional swings surrounding the officiating afterward.

“My interactions with the officials are between me and them,” said the head coach. “I have plenty to say to them, I’m going to keep it there. I thought our team did a really good job of staying present and just focusing on the next controllable. We just played a possession-by-possession.” His measured tone contrasted sharply with the Lakers’ visible frustration during and after the game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appreciates the help

The current MVP has dropped just 40 points in two games so far. He has not been at his best, and Thursday’s foul trouble did him no favors. But without him, the OKC still managed to decimate the rivals. The Lakers had a 66-61 lead when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the bench with his fourth foul at 10:34 of the third quarter. But when SGA re-entered the game at the start of the fourth quarter, the Thunder led 93-80. That massive swing came during a dominant 32-14 OKC run that completely changed the game.

“It was amazing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops. I have full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. They’ve proven that. No matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done.” Their bench has outscored the Lakers’ reserves 82-35 through two games. And despite all the attention on officiating, the Thunder’s dominance extended far beyond the whistle.

They outscored Los Angeles 38-17 in second-chance points and 46-32 in points off turnovers. They are doing it without the All-NBA talent Jalen Williams. Recent updates confirmed that he has officially been ruled out for Game 3 with a hamstring strain. He’s now missed five consecutive playoff games with the injury. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder would hope they continue their streak on Saturday at the Crypto.com Arena.