Accusations of biased officiating have hovered around the NBA, and somehow, the Los Angeles Lakers always end up in the middle of that storm. Plenty of players and coaches believe the whistles tilt toward Purple & Gold. The latest in line were the Philadelphia 76ers, who fell 112-108 in LA on Sunday. Their head coach, Nick Nurse, didn’t exactly point fingers. But let’s just say his comments sounded a lot like someone hinting at the refs without spelling it out.

“I think as much as he’s getting held and pushed and grabbed and all that stuff, you think there’d be some more,” Nurse said after the game.

He was talking about Tyrese Maxey not getting enough whistles. The coach admitted his team threw everything they had at the Luka Doncic – LeBron James combo, and really, that pair feels like a cheat code right now, but he still wasn’t happy watching the Slovenian player basically live at the free-throw line.

In Nurse’s words, they did a “decent enough job on Luka other than the 14 free throws, but it just seems to be the par for the course for him.”

Doncic‘s box score screamed elite: 31 points, 15 boards, 11 dimes, 11 of 14 at the line, and close to 40 minutes of dragging the Lakers over the finish line.

Factually, though, the Slovenian player does lead the NBA with 12.1 free-throw attempts per game this season. And he is far ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s second at 10.2 attempts. So, Nurse is right about the ‘par’ count being super-high for Doncic.

On the other side, Maxey wasn’t exactly quiet either. He piled up 28 points with nine assists and seven rebounds. The 76ers started the game really well, mostly because Maxey scored early, and they were already leading 19-9 before the Lakers hit back.

“As much as he (Maxey) drove it down the lane, you think there’d be some more,” Nurse said of Maxey not getting enough calls. “But what’s the surprising ones are when they were trying to foul on purpose and they let those go. They were trying to stop the break without committing a take foul and whack him upside the head, and he’s got to play through it. So, a little bit surprised on those.”

That kind of frustration from Nurse is starting to sound pretty familiar. If you look back at the 2023-24 season, he was saying almost the exact same thing. In the playoff series against the New York Knicks, Maxey exploded for 46 points in Game 5. But then in Game 6, he suddenly had a much quieter night. His coach felt a big reason was that Maxey barely got any foul calls, even though he was getting bumped around a lot.

But here’s the tricky part: publicly questioning refs in the NBA comes with a penalty. And Nurse knows that better than most. He’s been fined $15,000 in 2018 when he was with the Toronto Raptors and felt Kawhi Leonard wasn’t being treated fairly.

So Nurse might be taking the same risk again, while Maxey himself was visibly furious with the referee on the court.

Tyrese Maxey’s frustration boils over after no-call, amid Nick Nurse’s Luka Doncic observation

Things suddenly got tense late in the first quarter when Maxey thought he was fouled on a hard drive to the rim. The Sixers were up 23-17. Maxey pushed inside through the tough Lakers defense, especially through an Austin Reaves tug. Most people watching expected a whistle because there was plenty of contact, and then Jaxson Hayes also came flying in to block the shot.

When no call came, Maxey exploded in frustration, shouting at the referee and stepping a little too close before his 76ers teammates pulled him away. Even the viewers in the arena seemed to be on his side in that moment. He did end up receiving a technical foul for his animated reaction.

Replays later added another twist. A different camera angle showed Maxey actually shoved Reaves first to get some space, which explained why the officials let it go.

But in real time, it looked like Maxey got bumped and then completely stuffed at the rim.

Nurse wasn’t quiet either. He immediately started arguing from the bench, trying to get the officials to explain why nothing was called.

But Maxey was cool and calm after the game. In fact, he called it a “sign of respect” when other player’s were getting physical with him on the court.

Maxey is having a breakout season, putting up impressive numbers: 31.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and a 46.7% field shooting rate, so every missed call feels even bigger and his frustration is understandable.

The Lakers loss had the 76ers dropping to 13-10 for the season, snapping a three-game win streak. They host the Indiana Pacers next on Friday night.