“They don’t foul, so the whistles aren’t gonna be there,” JJ Redick said after practice a few days ago. The Los Angeles Lakers head coach showed a little gamesmanship and served a backhanded compliment to the Oklahoma City Thunder for their defensive ability. While the 41-year-old accepted the whistles won’t be in their favor, he didn’t expect them to be biased on another level. Even his star players, LeBron James and Luka Doncic, couldn’t believe the help OKC was getting.

In the first quarter at Paycom Center, Redick got irate after the Thunder supposedly got away with fouling Lakers star Austin Reaves on back-to-back possessions. With 1:26 remaining, the Lakers’ head coach called for a timeout. That’s when his frustration boiled over. He grabbed Lakers center Jaxson Hayes to demonstrate the contact that OKC was allegedly getting away with. Then the Lakers’ head coach was raging and got right up into the face of referee Ben Taylor, who hit him with a technical foul.

Another thing to note is that the Thunder had a 10-0 run in the last 2:24, which prompted the timeout in the first place. JJ Redick was so angry that players, including Luka Doncic, who was dressed in casuals, had to intervene and stop his head coach. The frustration of the second-year coach turned to amusement when another call didn’t go their way. LeBron James, who became the first player in NBA history to reach 300 postseason games, had complaints on his historic night. In the second quarter, he was called for a charging foul on former teammate Alex Caruso. And the reaction summed up why the Lakers actually had a tough day with the officials.

LeBron James got a foul for running in a straight line as the Thunder guard’s foot was not planted. Bron was upset after picking up an offensive foul. Luka Doncic was flailing his arms in disbelief while JJ Redick had a smirk on his face. All indicating that they were unhappy with the call. James even confronted the official John Goble, but it was to no avail. The 41-year-old even urged his coach to challenge the play, but it didn’t happen. The frustration from the 4x NBA champion also boiled over after another first-quarter incident.

The Lakers star spun baseline against Luguentz Dort and scored over a late contest from Jaylin Williams. The refs missed a clear and-1 foul as OKC’s big man made contact on Bron’s hands. This did not sit well with James, who decided to stare menacingly at referee Mark Lindsay. With multiple calls not going in the Lakers’ favor, it was clear their frustration had no limits. That’s why previously, the Purple and Gold head coach called out 29 other coaches to find a common ground.

In January, Redick said, “I got an admission from them,” explaining that the officiating crew acknowledged a poor start to the game. “It’s just for whatever reason, and you’d have to ask probably the other 29 coaches, but it feels like the inconsistency night-to-night within a game has been there for most of these crews.”

JJ Redick got support from the commentary over a missed call

In the first quarter, Smart ran the ball and passed it to Deandre Ayton inside, who was ready to win the defensive battle with Chet Holmgren. But that’s when he was called for an offensive foul for his apparent hit on the face of the Thunder star. DA was pleading, and JJ Redick used his coach’s challenge, and it turned out to be successful. This again highlighted the flaw of the refs.

“Big time acting job by Chet Holmgren,” said Stan Van Gundy. “Because the Thunder star was holding his face when the actual contact from Deandre Ayton was no near the throat or the face above the shoulders.” The officials, after review, stated that Holmgren grabbed Ayton’s right arm with both hands prior to contact to the face. But they failed to acknowledge that there was no hit on the face. However, it led to a successful challenge by JJ Redick to overturn the offensive foul on Deandre Ayton to a defensive foul on Chet Holmgren.

A successful challenge meant that the refs missed it the first time and called it wrong. Apart from this, the Lakers faced a lot of calls that didn’t go in their favor, and that’s why the frustration reached a boiling point during the timeout.