The New York Knicks got unlucky late tonight. In a 103-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the hosts gave up a lead in a tightly contested game. However, nearly all the attention was on Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored in his usual fashion: midrange domination and free throws. After the game, however, Knicks head coach Mike Brown fired subtle shots at him.

“SGA, he’s a tough cover,” Brown told reporters during his postgame conference. “He does a great job of convincing the referees, probably better than anybody in the league, that he’s getting hit.”

It was evident tonight. Despite Shai logging a more down-to-earth 26 points compared to his season averages tonight, he ended with a game-high seven free throw attempts, something that has been a big part of his game and drawn ire from opponents.

Tonight, Brown pointed to one particular sequence. With about two minutes on the clock, Jalen Brunson went to take a charge on Gilgeous-Alexander, absorbing contact from the guard. Unfortunately for the Knicks, it was Brunson who was assessed a foul, not SGA.

Brown was furious, immediately calling out the refs on the court, immediately earning a technical foul before stopping from engaging further to prevent an ejection. He explained his thought process after the game.

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“Pointedly leaving the officials alone was something I was trying to do,” Brown told reporters. “Tonight, you guys saw the play. SGA had two fouls. Jalen was there…I don’t understand why that was a no-call. That should’ve been his third, the bucket shouldn’t have counted, and we should’ve gone the other way with the basketball.”

Brown isn’t the only one who has words for the Thunder guard, either.

Mike Brown Becomes the Latest Critic of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Playing Style

Mike Brown isn’t the first person to call out the reigning MVP’s ability to draw foul calls, especially given the guard’s undeniable talent in drawing contact. Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the league in free throws attempted per game for the third season in a row, and has an astoundingly high free-throw rate of .465, one of the highest marks in the league for a high-volume shooter.

This playstyle has often led to friction between him and his opponents. SGA has often been accused of being a ‘foul-baiter,’ but has dismissed the narrative, previously telling reporters after a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that he “can’t control how the refs blow the whistle ever.”

After a later game against the Thunder in February, Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said that his players “couldn’t touch Shai” despite the Thunder getting away with fouling “all the time.

“It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton,” Finch told reporters back then. “It’s a very frustrating thing, and it takes a lot of mental toughness to play through it.”

ESPN commentator Doris Burke also called him out during a nationally televised game between the Wolves and the Denver Nuggets, pointing out that Anthony Edwards was called for an offensive foul, which would’ve gone in Gilgeous-Alexander’s favor had he been in that position instead.

It’s clear that SGA has his detractors, but until the Thunder are soundly defeated in the playoffs, it doesn’t seem like things are changing.